Jackson Junior 10: Past and Present
by drgemini86
Summary: Sequel to Jackson Junior: Separated, and loosely based on the movie, Stardust, Sam and Daniel are led on another adventure, but this time a lot closer to home than they could have imagined. SamDaniel,CamVala,JackSara,Teal'cIsh'ta,JonasLam,ShWeir,McCarson
1. Prologue

_**Jackson Junior: Past and Present, by DrGemini86 (DrGemini24)**_

_**Summary: **__Sequel to Jackson Junior: Separated, and loosely based on the movie, Stardust, Sam and Daniel are led on another adventure, but this time a __**lot**__ closer to home than they could have imagined._

_**Pairings: **__SamDaniel, CamVala, JackSara, Teal'cIsh'ta, JonasCarolyn, ShWeir, McCarson_

_**Crossover: **__Doctor Who (Ten), Charmed_

_**Rating: **__T_

_**Spoilers: **__Everything_

_**Series: **__10 of ? Preceded by Jackson Junior: Separated_

_**Warnings: **__Oh… if you've read the previous stories… the usual…and a bit more_

_**A/N: **__I only got the idea for it after re-watching the video for Take That's Rule the World and mulling over the bits of the movie in it… and I read the rather extensive synopsis on Wikipedia. lol. _

_Oh… and the first line of John Denver's Ponies inspired a part of this story (not this chapter though). It's just an image I got in my head about the 'greatest cowboy that's ever been…' Hee, hee._

_Double oh… I wrote this chapter __**before**__ I came across MaureenT's story about Daniel's paternity being in doubt. Any similarity between that and this is purely coincidental. It was actually quite spooky when I got the email alert the night I wrote this – transatlantic telepathy, anyone?_

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-- March, 1965 – New England coast --

A young man with longish chestnut brown hair and glasses, his shirt sleeves rolled up, heaved himself up onto a pile of heavy boulders, his hand strongly grabbing the promontory at the top. With one last burst of strength, he pulled himself up onto the rocky outcrop overlooking a shingled beach that was beautiful and idyllic in the light of day, but not so now, in the all-encompassing darkness without the light of the moon.

Breathing heavily from the exertion, he leaned against a cave mouth, waiting, until he heard a woman's voice, saying softly from the darkness within, "I'm here."

Pulling a flashlight from his pocket, he carefully stepped in and then switched it on, illuminating the interior of the narrow cave. In front of him was a heavily pregnant woman with shoulder length blonde hair, who said, looking worried,

"Mel, we've got to stop meeting like this."

Gaping at her pregnant form, he asked, scared as he tentatively smoothed her bump, "Grace…?"

She kissed the hand that caressed her face, saying softly, "It's Jake's… I know it is. I haven't been with you since last summer…"

She closed her eyes as he set the flashlight down and hugged her, saying, "I've missed you so much, but this has got to stop… Jake's going to kill you. Luckily, he doesn't suspect a thing."

He kissed her tenderly and said, fire in his eyes, "I wouldn't just take it if he went after me."

She smiled slightly as she caressed his face, whispering, "I know you wouldn't… you're fit, but he's a serving Air Force officer."

He sat down against the cave wall, holding her in between his legs as he played with her hair. He said,

"I've missed you too. You're right though – we can't keep doing this, but it's going to be so hard to let go. I can't stop thinking about you."

She leaned back in his embrace, whispering, "Me too. I just wish we'd met before either of us had got married. Adultery just seems so sordid. How's your wife?"

He smiled sadly, full of guilt and pain as well as happiness, and replied softly, "We're going to be parents too. Claire's five months gone…"

She curled up in his lap, leaning her head against his chest as he kissed her hair, holding her tightly. She said, tears running down her cheeks,

"We've got to stop this now… this can't happen again. One day Jake and Claire are going to find us about us. I don't want to ruin things for you."

"I don't want to ruin things for you either, but it…"

"No, Mel. One day we'll slip up and I'll be carrying your child. There's nothing in the world that I'd love more, but we can't. It's… it's wrong. It feels wrong. What kind of an example would we be setting for our children? Mark's going to grow up to hate me."

He sighed, resting his head against the back of the cave wall as he said softly, caressing her bump, "I'm never going to see you again, am I? I don't think I'll be able to live without you. I need you."

They kissed, both of them sad, and she said, "You and I both know that we won't leave them. I love Jake, as crazy as he drives me sometimes, and you love Claire… but…"

He continued kissing her, murmuring, "I love you as well."

"I love you too."

"It's so hard to let go, but I need to get back to Claire… and you need to go back to your holiday cottage before Jake comes out to look for you."

They held onto each other, tears in their eyes, and she said, sniffling against his shoulder, "Make love to me, Mel."

He caressed her cheek and kissed her tenderly, asking, "Are you sure?"

"I know you'll be careful… but what about Claire?"

"I told her I was going out for a walk… I'm more worried about you."

"Jake won't wake up now, and if he does, it'll take him a while to find me."

They kissed and began to take each other's clothes off. When he had taken all of hers off, he gazed at her considerably large bump in amazement, saying quietly as he kissed it,

"It's beautiful… to think that there's a little person growing inside of you like that."

She smiled up at him and then laughed softly when he looked startled on being kicked in the head by her unborn child. He, smiling too, kissed her lips and gently began to make love to her, whispering,

"You're so beautiful, Grace."

She gazed up at him as he kneeled at her side, whispering in return as she smoothed his stomach, "You're a beautiful man, Melburn. Your baby's going to be just like you. There aren't enough people like you in the world."

Deciding not to go too far for fear of the welfare of the unborn child, he held her in his arms as she smiled slightly against his chest. She whispered,

"I love the feeling I get after being with you."

They kissed, long and deep, and he whispered back, resting his forehead against hers, "Same here. I don't know how I'm going to live the rest of my life without ever seeing you again."

She kissed his chest, replying sadly, "We're going to have to. It's too risky and too many people are going to get hurt. We've got our children to think of as well…"

Her voice broke with emotion as she continued, holding onto him, "… it's for the best. In two months, I'm going to be a mother again."

He caressed her waist tenderly and kissed her shoulder, tears in his eyes before he said gently as the wind picked up in intensity outside, "Come on, I've got to get you back."

Scared, she asked looking up at him, "Mel?"

He held her face in his hand, stroking her cheek with his thumb as he replied, "There is no way that I'm letting you go back by yourself. Anything could happen."

"Including you being caught."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. You're heavily pregnant… it's the least I can do."

She remarked, smiling emotionally, "Oh, Melburn, don't ever change… you're so damn stubborn… and caring."

He helped her back into his clothes, putting his own on, and when he had slipped his glasses back on, he said, reaching into his pocket, "I figured this would be our last meeting, so I got you something."

Dismayed, she said, shaking her head, "It's too risky."

"It's ok – it'll be our little secret. You could always say you found it."

He pulled out a slowly yet brightly flashing deep red stone from his pocket and, as she gazed at it, mesmerised, she said as he looked at it, agape, "Oh Mel, it's beautiful. How does it flash like that?"

He said, surprised as he looked from the stone, to her, and to her bump, "It's not supposed to… oh."

"Where did you get it?"

"I found it in Egypt last summer… it was so strange. It was a small chamber beneath Deir-el-Medina, and this was in the centre. The hieroglyphs that I saw told a story of a baby destined to be born who would grow up to be a saviour of the universe with her husband, and they would have two very special children. Unfortunately, the chamber was gutted shortly afterwards because of an accident with the Jeep of one of the French Archaeologists leaking gas. All that was left was… this."

She gazed at the stone in amazement and said, "That's a nice story… but why is it flashing?"

He gazed back at her and replied in a low voice, "I think it's your baby."

She asked, worried and spooked, "Won't Claire know the stone's missing?"

"She thinks I lost it on the way back. I don't know why but I thought of you when I saw it and knew I had to give it to you. I remembered how you like rubies, and even though this _might_ not be a ruby…"

She kissed him and replied with a small smile, "I'd treasure anything from you in the same way."

He placed the stone in her hand and then they gaped in surprise when it glowed even more, rose a few feet and then dissolved into her abdomen. She looked at him, panic-stricken, asking,

"Mel? What about my baby? What did it do?"

Worried, he replied, "I don't know. I swear, I thought it was just a stone."

A yellow glow of some unknown energy burst from her abdomen as they both looked fearful, and they stared as the energy hit the opposite cave wall. He held her, scared for the baby's welfare, attempting to keep her calm as the energy spread across the wall and then formed an image of an unborn baby in the womb. They stared at the image and at each other in shock, and then the image changed.

A woman, looking similar to Grace, appeared, dressed in what appeared to be a wedding gown, long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders. Holding the hands of the woman was a brown haired man who resembled Mel as well as his wife, the man dressed in a tuxedo. What appeared to be the couple's friends and two children were gathered in the foreground of the image, five men, two in Air Force dress uniforms stood next to the man; five bridesmaids next to the woman. In the background, the man officiating the ceremony, closed his book with a small smile and the couple gazed at each other with a smile and kissed tenderly as the guests cheered.

The image disappeared, leaving Mel and Grace breathing heavily in fear and shock, and the yellow energy gathered from the wall and returned to her bump. He held her firmly, whispering,

"It's ok… just breathe. I don't think it was meant to hurt you. Take a deep breath, Grace."

She took a deep breath to calm herself and asked, fearful, "Mel? What was that? That woman… and that man… they looked like us. Oh my God… it can't be…"

Spooked too, he replied as he rested his chin on her shoulder, "I think so. They're our children. Our children get married… you're carrying a little girl. I think she's going to… oh my. We're the parents of the kids in the prophecy."

After a long pause, she said, "Don't be ridiculous…"

"Hey, you saw what happened. I think we got a glimpse of the future. I knew there had to be more to that instinct I had about giving this to you."

She asked, looking up at him, "What are we going to do?"

"We're just going to act as normal as possible. It's 1965… if we told anyone, they'd only assume that we were taking drugs. Come on, let's go."

He helped her up and she said, still looking spooked, "Jake's going to be disappointed. He was hoping for a boy. He's already got the name picked out – Samuel."

"Oh, that bible-thumper."

"He isn't really… it's just tradition in his family. His brother's called Isaac and his sister's called Ruth, and my _wonderful_ mother-in-law is called Naomi."

They hugged, and he said softly, "We'll just have to forget what we saw. It's for the best. Who knows what will happen if we change that future unwittingly?"

She smiled shakily as she kissed him, saying, "You're going to have a son… a very handsome son…"

"… and your daughter is going to look just like you – breathtakingly beautiful. My son's going to have good taste."

They kissed and she asked, "How can we be apart? It looks as though the future's going to bring us together again."

He sighed, whispering, "Maybe one day things are going to work out for us… although, I think I'm glad that we're not married now. Our kids would have been siblings, and that wedding would be gross."

She held onto him, crying softly as he caressed her back, and he continued, kissing her neck, "Grace… I'll always be with you. _Always_."

They gazed at each other and he said softly, "Come on, let's get you home before Jake finds us and throws me off those boulders out there."

He put an arm around her as they left the cave, the Archaeologist using his flashlight to light their way as they neared the treacherous rocks. He remarked, frowning in concern as he looked down the rocks,

"Remind me again how you got up here."

She chuckled, replying, "I was careful."

"I've said it once and I'll say it again, Grace Montgomery-Carter – you are insane."

"And you're overly-cautious."

"Can you blame me?! You're not only pregnant but your baby's turned."

He sighed, lowering his head in defeat, and he said with a pout, "At least it isn't raining."

Sighing again, he was about to lead her down when it began to rain, and she remarked with an impish grin, "You were saying…? Your pout should be part of a rain dance."

"You're not helping."

He was about to lead her back into the cave again when she took a step and slipped, stumbling forwards as she called his name, panicking. Calling her name, he grabbed her, pulling her back from the edge as she held onto him, both of them panting. He led her back into the cave as she began to cry, and he said, tears in his eyes as he ran his fingers through her long hair,

"Oh God, Grace, I can't lose you."

He dried her eyes as she said in a small voice, "I nearly lost the baby. If I'd fallen… oh God."

She held onto him and he kissed her softly before saying, "We can't stay here. Jake's definitely going to come to look for you, and Claire's going to be worried about where I've got to. We're… I'll carry you."

"Mel?"

"No arguing. I'll carry you."

"But…"

"I don't want to take the risk but you have to get home... if not for your sake, then for the baby at least. Please."

She gazed at him, sadness in her eyes, and he, sad too, picked her up in his arms, and asked as she looked up at him, "We're going to be fine, ok? I'll take it slowly."

She nodded, scared, and he exhaled, walking purposefully back to the top of the pile again, both of them getting wetter because of the rain. She guided him to the easier part of the rocks that she had climbed earlier, and he carefully scaled them as she used the flashlight to light his way. He finally reached the bottom, breathing a sigh of relief, releasing the breath that he hadn't realised that he had held, and he kissed her as she switched the light off, slipping her arms around his neck.

In the distance, they heard a man call, "Grace! Grace! Where are you?"

Melburn muttered a swearword in another language and he said, standing her up carefully, "I've got to go. He can't see me."

Tears in her eyes, she kissed him, whispering, "I'm going to miss you."

He touched her cheek, replying softly, kissing her again, "Me too. I love you. I'll always love you."

"I love you too."

As the voice nearer, he ducked behind some rocks, making sure that he was lying flat so that he couldn't be spotted, and he peeked up at Grace, who looked at him in worry. He hissed,

"Act natural. You just went out for a walk."

She nodded and then sat down on a nearby rock to take the weight off her feet. He held her hand until the beam of a flashlight landed on Grace from the other side, and a strong looking man with light-to-medium brown hair said, dripping wet in only his t-shirt and a pair of shorts, military dog-tags visible,

"Grace! What the hell were you thinking of?!"

He put a blanket around her as she replied quietly, "I just went for a walk, Jake."

Jacob said, worried as he stood her up, "You are one crazy woman, Grace. Anything could have happened. Are you ok?"

She nodded and he continued, his arm around her as they walked back the way he had come, "Come on, let's get you back to the cottage. We've got to drive to New York tomorrow. Honestly woman, you could have woken me up."

"Sorry Jake."

She glanced back just as Mel peeked up from behind the rocks, their gazes meeting for a brief moment, and then he crept away silently, running back to his beach-house, feeling sad as well as guilty.

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Mel arrived home to find a woman sitting on the porch, her hair dark blonde, her abdomen swollen. He said, forcing a smile onto his face which soon became genuine,

"Claire! What are you doing up?"

Claire replied, looking worried as she smoothed her bump, "I was worried about you. You said you were going for a walk well over an hour ago…"

She trailed off on seeing the state of his clothes, and she asked, amused, "Did you trip over a rock again? Oh Mel."

He said, feeling too guilty to touch or kiss her as he made to walk in, "I'll… uh, I'll go get cleaned up."

She was about to follow him in, but he tenderly draped a blanket over her, saying softly, "No Claire, you rest."

He smoothed her cheek and then went in to shower and change his clothes, all the while thinking of Grace and what they had both experienced. He sighed in the shower, groaning as the hot water hit his skin, and he closed his eyes, thinking of the image of what appeared to be the future.

'_We must not have been in shot._'


	2. A Package

_A/N: Like with each story including and since Commanders, italics between apostrophes means telepathic conversation between our favourite twosome. If you're completely puzzled as to why there would be telepathic conversation here… you've been very naughty. _; p

_Thanks to DementedLeaf for reminding me just how much of a (bleeping bleep) the spellchecker in Microsoft Word can be. Oh yeah. _

_--------------------_

-- Present day – March, 2012, Colorado Springs --

Sam lay sleeping on the couch, the older children on a day out with their Uncle Cam, Auntie Vala, and Cousin Francis; baby Grace sleeping soundly on top of her mother on her front as Sam's arms held her protectively. The Colonel shifted a little in her sleep and the little girl began to whimper, waking the older Jackson. Her eyes still closed, she kissed the baby's crown, whispering,

"Shh, Gracie… don't cry all over the moment."

Grace stopped whimpering, returning to sleep, and Sam sighed with a tiny smile, thinking that some of Daniel's 'golden touch', as she called it sometimes, had finally rubbed off on her… after five years of being a mother. She gently stroked the back of the baby's head and was about to go back to sleep when the sound of the doorbell dashed all hope of that… as well as peace for her.

Grace whimpered and then cried, and Sam sighed resignedly, remarking as she got up, bouncing a loudly crying Grace in her hold, "Naughty doorbell."

Sensing something, she smiled slightly as she reached the door, whispering, "Someone's sent us a present. I think it's Uncle Mark. Daddy's still working things out."

She opened the door and was presented with a large box wrapped in brown paper and tied off with a string. After signing for it, the postman offered to bring it in for her because of the baby, and after he had left, she shut the door behind him and asked Grace,

"What do you think it is, Gracie?"

She set Grace down on the floor of the lounge, the baby crawling towards the parcel and patting it. Sam smiled and undid the string, reading the label with a chuckle. She still hadn't got used to having Daniel's surname despite wanting it, and it amused her to see that her brother had the same issue. She mused over his handwritten label with the beginnings of the name 'Carter', written as a force of habit, and then crossed out and replaced with the name 'Jackson'.

Opening the box as she lifted a crawling Grace into her lap, Sam whispered, kissing the top of the baby's head with a smile, "Uncle Mark's sent this as a peace offering for being so mean. It's most of the things that he has left of another little lady called 'Grace'."

Grace gurgled in reply, leaning forward to noisily pat the box flap and Sam touched her cheek before taking things out of the box; photos, scrapbooks, jewellery, and assorted little trinkets. She put the little things back into the box to escape the baby's mouth, which, since she had learned to crawl, had tasted many things that were never meant for that purpose.

Sam looked at the scrapbooks with her daughter, pointing out people and places that she recognised, when she realised that the front cover of one was a little bulkier than normal. She peeked at the frayed bottom edge of it, frowning slightly when she saw the edge of what looked to be a piece of paper. Carefully prising that part of the cover apart, she managed to pull an old envelope out.

She picked it up, smelling the dust, and asked, "Should we open it?"

Sighing, debating within herself whether she should open it or just leave it, she eventually decided to open it, and frowned as a picture and a newspaper cutting fell out. Her eyes widened in shock on recognising the man in the picture – her late father-in-law – and, her heart pounding in her chest like a sledgehammer, she looked at the cutting and was shocked even further to see that it was a report in the New York Times from 1973, reporting the tragic deaths of 'Doctors Melburn and Claire Jackson' in an 'unfortunate accident.'

Daniel didn't have any of this… and someone who had never known the Jacksons, to her knowledge, had… Why had her mother been in possession of a picture of Daniel's father and a cutting of an account of his death? She turned the picture over and was shocked yet again on recognising and reading her mother's handwriting with the date, in 1973,

"_My Mel died yesterday. I got the news from the NY Times and I collapsed. Living without him was with the understanding that he was always there, but now he isn't. He isn't there any more. The future we imagined, the plans we had… they're gone. Jake didn't understand. Jake wouldn't understand, of course he wouldn't. How would he? We've managed to keep the secret for so long, before Mark was even born…_"

No.

Tears began to fall from Sam's eyes as she considered the implications of what she had just read, and she looked down at her daughter in fear, whispering in horror, "My God… what have we done?"

'_Daniel!_'

'_Honey, what is it? You sound scared._'

'_I think you'd better come home._'

'_What's wrong?_'

'_What's wrong?! What's wrong?! Oh my God, Daniel… it's… it's too horrifying for words._'

She heard him sigh when she resisted his attempts to mentally hug her, '_Ok, I'm coming. I've just finished my last set anyway. You know, you made me go weepy for a moment… you're not even due for a couple of weeks._'

'_Please, Daniel._'

'_I'm coming, Sam. Just going to the shower… no spying on me this time._'

She grimaced at the rising temptation, now thinking it to be so very wrong, and he remarked, sounding worried, '_Whoa, it must be bad._'

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A short time later, Daniel arrived home, having driven through a sudden heavy downpour, to find Sam crying on the floor of the lounge, an open box in front of her as Grace bawled her eyes out in her mother's hold. The Archaeologist sighed, thinking that Sam was having coping issues again and he kneeled down next to her, picking Grace up over his shoulder as he rubbed her back.

Shushing the little girl as her cries descended into whimpers, he looked at his wife with worry and asked, touching her face, "Sam? What is it? What's wrong?"

She shied from his touch and looked at him, saying as she looked so overwhelmingly upset, the rainstorm intensifying outside, "Those stupid prophecies. Even before that…"

She looked at him and asked, tears streaming down her face, "How could we have known?"

Confused, and hurt from the way she had shied away from him, he asked, "What?"

She closed her eyes and gave him the picture of his father and the newspaper clipping. He stared at the picture of Melburn Jackson, having never seen it before, and then he gaped in shock at the newspaper report for the same reason. He, spooked, asked as he looked at her,

"Where did you get these from?"

She replied, swallowing past a huge lump in her throat, "Mom."

"My Mom? How…"

She closed her eyes and said, shaking her head, "No… mine. It was hidden in the cover of an old scrapbook in the stuff that Mark sent."

Confused even further at everything plus her behaviour, he tried to hug her again when she pushed him away and said, looking scared, "No, Daniel… we've… I can't."

When he looked increasingly hurt, she bowed her head and said quietly, "Look at the back of the photo."

Choking on a sob, she covered her mouth with her hand as she ran out of the room to be sick, leaving a very confused Archaeologist. Curious and concerned, he turned the photo over to read the old handwriting, and his heart felt as though it had stopped when everything slotted into place.

"Oh God."

Troubled, he looked down at Grace who was now sleeping in his arms, and he closed his eyes, finally understanding why Sam wouldn't touch him, why she wouldn't let him touch her. Forcing himself to be calm, he picked his daughter up, laying her down in her cot, and then he went after Sam.

He found her in the downstairs bathroom being violently sick as she sobbed, pounding the ceramic bowl every so often in frustration and grief. Now feeling awkward, he cleaned her up nonetheless, and she shook her head as she sat on the floor, trying to keep as much space between herself and him as possible.

He sat down too, looking pensive, and she said, her voice hoarse, her eyes bloodshot, "I guess it explains a lot… how close we've been even before we got married. People used to comment years back that we were like brother and sister."

Looking tense, she continued, her voice wobbling as she looked down at the floor, "I can't believe it. We're related… and we have five kids. What have we done, Daniel? This should never have happened… but it felt so right."

Tears in his eyes, he looked at her, feeling as though he had lost half of himself as he said, "It's a lot to take in… I thought my parents were in love. But Dad was playing on Mom."

He shook his head, not wanting to believe it, and he continued, "We can't be related. We can't be. Surely the myriad genetic tests that we've undergone these past fifteen years as part of the programme, would have picked that up?"

She nodded quickly, glad of the chance of a loophole, and she said, "Yeah… yeah… we should talk to Carolyn."

She choked on another sob and continued, "God, I want to hold you but I might be sick again."

He gazed back at her sadly, not moving either as he remarked self-deprecatingly, "I told you I was wrong for you."

"Oh Daniel."

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"_I've got something to ask you,  
I've got something to say,  
I'd love a review or two from you,  
Even if it's only a word or two… Oh…_

_Readers, I'll write faster updates,  
Readers, I'll write better chapters,  
Readers, I'll reply to each review,  
Readers… with you 'viewing me… Ooh…"_

_lol._


	3. Briefings

"Ok, guys… um, I don't know how to tell you this, so Sam is just gonna come right out and say it."

With the rest of SG-1, and Carolyn gathered around the kitchen table, the children asleep, Sam shot a nonchalant Daniel a dirty look and Cam remarked, looking from Sam to Daniel and back again in concern,

"What's up? You guys seem tenser than a cattle rustler on Sunday."

When everyone looked at him in varying levels of bemusement, the southern Colonel shrugged, continuing, "What? They have consciences – they're human."

Vala shook her head with a smile, saying to Sam, "Well, it seems my husband's strange use of your Earth language is taking precedence once more… what is it? Are you pregnant again? I have to say that it's pretty soon seeing as Grace is only three months old."

Cam added with a grin as Jonas and T smirked, Daniel glaring at Vala, "Jackson, you dog! Did you knock yourself up this time? Sam's three babies up on you so you've got a lot of catching up. You better pray for triplets… but then that would mean eight kids in total, which would be pretty hectic. But, hey, that would mean you're then four kids away from Cheaper by the Dozen. Oh, the hilarity when Cammie's old enough for a boyfriend."

Daniel said, glaring again when Vala grinned, "No, nobody's pregnant."

Carolyn asked, noticing that the Jacksons looked increasingly upset, "What is it?"

Sam glanced at Daniel, grimacing a little as she said, "We have reason to believe that we might be siblings."

A stunned silence descended on the group as Daniel lowered his gaze to the table, Sam covering her face with her hands. Teal'c asked, obviously shaken by the revelation, which said a lot… considering,

"Is this a remark of a humorous nature, or is this made in verity?"

Jonas remarked as Cam looked spooked, "I have to say, it's pretty bad. April 1st or not."

Daniel shook his head and said quietly, "No, really."

Sam pushed forward the photo of Melburn, saying as she turned it over, "This is a picture of Daniel's Dad… and the writing on the back is my mother's. It seems that they were having an affair since before Mark was born. Mark's two years older than me."

She continued as the photo did the rounds, everyone reading the note on the back as she pushed forward the newspaper clipping too, "It was in with my mother's effects along with this. To my knowledge, my mother… or any other member of my family never knew the Jacksons. I think Dad… or Mark at least would have said something."

Cam exhaled and said, "How can you be sure though? You and Mark don't look anything like Jackson's Dad. _You_ don't even look like him… and I seem to remember James looking a lot like an old picture of your Dad."

Carolyn said with a sigh, "I'm sure we would have picked something like this up long ago, but to put this to rest or possibly even open up a can of worms, I'd be happy to perform tests on you."

Sam and Daniel quickly glanced at each other and then said in unison, "Sure."

Teal'c remarked, still looking shaken, "DanielJackson, each time you attempt to stay away from the mountain, you are drawn back once again."

Cam smiled briefly as he passed the newspaper clipping and photo back to Sam, shaken to the core about the possibilities as well as reading for himself how Daniel's parents had died. He said, looking at Sam,

"Well, Jackson the second… so much for maternity leave. The mountain's calling once again."

--------------------

While they waited for DNA and blood test results in Carolyn's office, Sam and Daniel sat side-by-side, their minds full of and buzzing with the things that they had learned, and the possibilities. Nothing was said for a long moment, neither sure of quite what to say to the person who might very well be their sibling.

Finally, Daniel exhaled and asked, trying for a business-like demeanour but failing completely, "What do we do about our babies?"

Sam, not looking at him as she looked down at her lap, replied softly, a stray tear running down her cheek, "They're our first priority regardless of everything. It's not their fault. We just have to make amends. God… we're going to have to go back to how we were before… I don't think I can do that."

She shook her head and began to cry, unable to keep talking, and he, sensing her tumultuous emotions, the maelstrom mixing with his own, said, scared to touch her, "There's also the matter of our parents knowing each other."

She nodded, whispering and still not looking at him, "Yep. It's going to throw everyone off-kilter."

She sighed and finally looked at him, saying, her eyes red-rimmed, "I don't regret it, Daniel. Not one bit. Even if… if this is true that we're brother and sister… I'll remember this. I won't forget. I won't make myself forget either."

His voice wobbling with the threat of oncoming tears, he gazed at her lovingly for a moment, whispering, "Me too."

Her hand trembling, she reached for his, and they both closed their eyes as they savoured the contact for a brief moment and then pulled away a little too quickly, their hearts anguished.

Carolyn came in a little while later, a file folder under her arm. They silently looked up at her as she walked around them to sit at her chair behind her desk, and the Doctor said with an emotionless mask, opening the folder in front of her as she looked at it, and then them,

"The results were pretty conclusive…"

Sam and Daniel's eyes closed in anticipation of what was to come, their minds too agonised to read each other let alone the Doctor, and Carolyn said with a small smile, "… you're _not_ brother and sister."

They gaped in shock, and Carolyn continued, looking at Sam, "I compared your results, Sam, to the several that we have on file for General Carter, and you are definitely his daughter. I guess congratulations are in order, you two."

Still shocked, they stared at each other and then Daniel closed his eyes, pulling his more than willing wife into a hug as he whispered, kissing her neck, "It was killing me… I would have died if it turned out that I wouldn't be able to touch you again."

Carolyn, smiling briefly and then looking concerned, said as she got up to leave, "I guess it's a lot to take in. I'll give you a few moments."

--------------------

Back home again, as Cammie and James coloured in pictures in their colouring books in the lounge, Claire and Jake in their playpen, Sam sat at the kitchen table in deep thought as she mused over the picture of Melburn and the writing on its back. While she burped Grace, having just fed her, she sensed Daniel coming downstairs and smiled slightly as she felt him enter the lounge, followed shortly by the sounds of four children shouting,

"Daddy!!!"

'_They're all Daddy's little kiddies._'

'_They're not. My boy seems to prefer you._'

'_That's only because he thinks he has to as his Mommy… even though I'm actually his Daddy. Boy, he better not be traumatised when we finally tell him._'

After he had spent a few moments with his older four children, he entered the kitchen and poured himself a glass of juice. Glancing at his wife, he poured out another glass and then asked, sitting down next to her as he handed her a glass,

"How are you doing?"

Smiling in thanks for the glass, she replied, massaging her temples as she looked at him, "It was just so terrible… the thought that you could have been my brother, that our children were the product of an incestual relationship… It was too much."

He nodded and said, raising his eyebrows briefly with a small sigh, "Which leads us to how or why our parents knew each other…"

He continued, closing his eyes as he rested his chin in his hands, "I have so many nice memories of my parents together…" He opened his eyes, gazing at her in confused anguish, "… you saw it too. They were in love – you can't fake that sort of devotion. They…" He choked on a little sob as she, upset too, held his hand, "… they even went together. I'm not even sure I want to know. I-I mean we could dig up all sorts of skeletons that were meant to stay buried… but…"

She finished for him, a sad smile briefly flitting across her features, "… but it's too much to keep buried. It could hold answers to questions we didn't even know to ask. Why my parents had their problems… Why Mom and your Dad did the things that they did. I think we need to know, Daniel… no matter what comes up."

He nodded and asked, "What do you want to do? Are you going to talk to Mark?"

She shook her head and replied as he smoothed her hand, "No, not yet. When there's something that he needs to know, like perhaps… you know… then maybe. I'm not sure I want to drive him away now after he's started to talk to me again. Carolyn was right about a can of worms."

They both looked to the door when Cammie came into the kitchen with her colouring book, saying as she ran to her father, "Daddy! Look at what I coloured."

Sam smiled, gently bouncing Grace in her hold as Daniel grinned, pulling Cammie up to sit in his lap and he looked down at her book as she showed him the various pictures, and he said, holding the little girl's hands, his head close to hers, "Wow, these are pretty good. I wish I could colour like that."

James came in shortly afterwards with a similar objective and waited next to his father. Daniel looked up from Cammie and said with a gentle smile,

"Junior, you can show Mommy your pictures."

James shook his head and said, frowning in worry briefly, "Mommy's holdin' Gracie. She's busy. I'll wait."

Sam laughed softly as Daniel looked across at her in amusement, the Colonel remarking silently, '_Just like his Mommy…_'

'_You know, his alternate timeline self was pretty well-adjusted and he knew about the big secret._'

'_I know… but it's different now._'

He nodded a little and then helped Cammie colour in something as she scolded him for using the wrong colour. Sam, still amused, said with an incline of her head to James,

"Come on little man, there's always room on Mommy for you… and I think Gracie wants to see your pictures as well."

James' face lit up and he carefully climbed onto his mother's knee with her help and gently touched Grace's cheek as she squealed, saying, "Hello, baby."

He kissed her cheek as Sam watched, touched by the affectionate gestures, and then he opened his colouring book to show his mother and baby sister his pictures, gently stopping Gracie from ripping pages as he gave a running commentary on his colouring techniques as his mother looked on in barely concealed amusement.


	4. Exploration

With all of the children asleep, and their friends keeping away to give them time to think things over, Sam and Daniel sat on the floor of the lounge with the box of things from Mark. She showed him various pictures and trinkets, telling him the history behind each one. He said with a soft smile as he tucked her fair hair behind her ear,

"I've said it before… you look a lot like Mom… uh, your Mom."

He continued, kissing her gently, "I just wish she was still around so we could ask about what happened."

She nodded, feeling hurt and confused as she remarked, looking down into the box, "So many questions, so little answers."

She looked back at him and said, her voice breaking in parts with emotion, "You know, when I thought you were my brother, I was scared… I feel things… I've always felt things that were way beyond sisterly for you. The things I feel, I've never felt for anyone else, and… I sure as well wouldn't feel… wouldn't want to feel like this about a sibling."

He caressed her cheek and replied, "I know. I… I felt the same thing, which isn't too surprising, _Gwenhwyfar_… I really meant it when I said that I would have died if it turned out to be true, that I couldn't hold you or kiss you again. It would have been way too much. I don't think we would have managed too well going back to the way we were before Cammie and James."

She kissed him and rested her head on his shoulder as he put an arm around her, playing with her hair. Her eyes fell upon the newspaper clipping that was in front of them, in amongst the other contents of the box, and she said with a sigh, picking it up,

"This just brings back memories from the Gamekeeper's planet."

He nodded as he rested his cheek against her hair, replying with a distant expression as he remembered sharing that personal memory with her so long ago, about fourteen years previously, "That just brought back a lot of the details… the smallest details that I didn't or couldn't consciously remember. To be honest, I could have done without experiencing that all over again. It was just so painful. I was so small... so weak, and I couldn't do a damn thing to save them."

As tears slowly began to run down his cheeks, she, sad too, hugged him and he rested his head on her shoulder with a soft sigh as she rubbed his back. She then reached up under the front of his shirt to caress his stomach in a calming manner as he exhaled. She whispered, kissing his ear,

"It happened a long time ago Daniel. You were a little boy, and you couldn't change what happened. No-one could have. It was just an accident, and that bastard was using it against you. He wanted you to feel utterly helpless."

He nodded, gently kissing her neck, and she asked as they both savoured the embrace, "What are we going to do?"

He replied softly, "We'll have to track down their old friends… I don't have any experience on this sort of thing, but surely they wouldn't have been able to keep the affair completely secret. It's a pretty big thing. They could have told someone."

She sighed, closing her eyes and then said as he ran his fingers through her hair, "It explains something that's always bugged me though."

Kissing the top of her head, he asked, "What?"

"Why Mom was so upset around the time when I was eight. Looking back, I always thought that she just had some kind of a nervous breakdown for some reason – sort of a prelude or maybe even as a result of the problems she and Dad had – but now I think I know why. The writing on the back of that photo suggests that she was deeply shaken by Dad's… your Dad's death. I remember her collapsing in the kitchen when we were living in New York. She just kept on crying and crying, and no-one knew why."

He asked, intrigued and shocked, "I remember you mentioned that… do we know if she had a therapist?"

"I guess she did, because I remember Dad taking leave to take care of us, and we didn't see Mom for a while."

"… which means that she may have been taken somewhere to convalesce."

"Mm-hm. Why am I thinking of needles and haystacks?"

"You hang out with Mitchell too much."

He smiled against her neck as she playfully hit him, and then she said with a sigh, leaning into his embrace, "We've got some digging to do, and…"

Suddenly an idea struck her, and he smiled, realising what she had come up with. He said, stroking her shoulder,

"I think we can do it… I've never done it before, but we've travelled space before, so why not time?"

She frowned at him, about to correct him, when he shook his head and said, "Nope, that was a memory of my parents with me. That wasn't time travel, but we could give it a shot, Samantha."

--------------------

Kneeling in front of each other on their bed after checking in on their children, they held hands, and she asked, worried, "What if…"

He shook his head with a little smile and replied, "Same principle as before… that much I know. We'll hear them."

"Ok."

He caressed her jaw as they gazed at each other lovingly, and they kissed gently. Parting, they continued to gaze at each other, his hand still on her face, and then they closed their eyes, he whispering silently,

'_Come into my mind… I'll do everything else._'

'_Control freak._'

He smiled slightly before their connection was forged with an alarming clarity, and they looked up and around themselves as bright white light flooded their surroundings, but didn't reflect anywhere. They closed their eyes and she let herself go, having complete trust and faith in him as he embraced her physically and mentally.

--------------------

"Daniel?"

Sam gazed around herself in eventual amazement as she recognised the interior of the house that had been the Carter family home during the early seventies. She gaped in shock as she saw a well-built man go past, looking somewhat like an older version of James. Covering her mouth with her hand, she said before she had realised the implications of what she was doing,

"Dad?"

Luckily, for her, the man hadn't heard her or even seen her as he walked straight through her, and she shut her eyes in dread anticipation, hoping that it wasn't painful. Luckily, again, it wasn't, and she turned around quickly on feeling a hand on her shoulder, to see none other than Daniel. Overcome by the tumult of emotions that assaulted her as the memories came back, she went into his willing arms and began to cry.

He caressed her shoulder, and asked looking around them as he rested his chin on the top of her head, "I take it that this is where you were living in '73… at least, I hope."

She nodded in his embrace and, as he dried her eyes, she replied looking up at him, "Did you see Dad? I've forgotten just how much like him James looks."

He smiled a little wistfully as he said gently, "Yep, he reminded me of our alternate timeline boy especially."

She kissed him and he remarked with a twinkle in his eyes, smiling slightly, "Wanna show me your room?"

She jokingly hit him, remarking in reply, "Is that all you think about, Jackson?!"

He retorted with a fond smile, "Not all I think about…"

He caressed her cheek and said, his smile fading a little, "We've got some business to attend to. I'm not sure how long we can remain here… but on the bright side, they can't see us."

She nodded, and took his hand as he remarked, "Lay on, McColonel."

--------------------

Outside in the bright sunlight, they came across two fair haired children playing in the grass, digging the mud with a stick. Sam grinned on seeing the scene, whispering to Daniel as he slipped an arm around her,

"We used to be so close. Cammie and James remind me so much of me and Mark when we were young. Look at us."

He nodded, saying, "The Air Force split you up."

She sighed and replied, "Not just that. It was a lot of things. He was still very bitter about Mom's… passing. He was fourteen when it happened. I forgave Dad because it wasn't his fault. It took me a long time to work through all sorts of conflicting feelings, but I think he suffered the most out of it all."

She took a deep breath and was about to hold his hand to lead back indoors when none other than Grace walked straight through them. Sam, still not used to seeing her mother like this, almost in the flesh, gaped at the sight of the woman, who seemed a lot more real than the simulation that Daniel had created for a birthday present… which was shocking in itself.

Daniel held her hand in support, glancing at her in worry before looking at his mother-in-law, and perhaps step-mother, as she said with a clap of her hands, "Mark, Sam, come in and have some cookies. They're ready."

The two fair-haired children, the male of whom was bespectacled, instantly looked up, their faces lighting up as they got up and made to run indoors but Grace remarked sternly, smiling slightly,

"Whoa, where do you think you're going? Have the _Terrible Twosome_ forgotten something?"

Their faces immediately dimmed as they looked down at the ground, Mark saying quietly, "Yes, Mom."

Little Sam nodded too, and Grace said, leading them to the front door, "Take your shoes off, and I'm going to have to get all those clothes cleaned up. Tsk, tsk. This is what I get for bringing up Carters. Come on. You're gonna be washed up too. Grandma Carter's coming later on – what is she going to say if she sees you looking like little urchins?"

Mark poked his tongue out when Grace had turned her back and then flicked a little mud at little Sam, who promptly threw it back and punched him. Mark was about to hit her back when Grace intervened, saying,

"Mark Carter, if I ever see you hitting your sister again, I'll tell your father and he'll get the belt out again… and Sam… I'm disappointed in you."

As Grace led them indoors for a good washing, the two children poked their tongues out at each other, and Daniel looked down at his Sam to see that she was crying. He hugged her and remarked with a tight smile,

"I see you were militant and insane from an early age."

She laughed a little weakly, and he said, "Come on, we might as well go in."

--------------------

After wandering around the house a little, Sam pointing out different things and laughing at some of the memories along with Daniel, they entered the kitchen of the house as Daniel remarked on hearing a thundering noise coming down the stairs,

"There aren't elephants anywhere other than the Zoo are there?"

Sam smiled as the children raced in, and she said as Grace scolded them, "Mark's got fairer hair than James has… James' is getting darker."

"Hmm, yep, that's from _Mommy_ here."

She held the hand that was resting on her shoulder as she watched the children sit down at the table, starting to eat cookies, and then the Colonel froze on seeing Grace pick a paper up. Daniel asked, worried,

"Sam? What is it?"

Sam, covering her mouth with her hand as the woman opened the paper, said, shaking her head, "She's reading the paper. It's today. It happens today. Oh God."

He tried to shield her but she shook her head again, silently insisting on watching the scene so she could understand her memories better, and they watched as Grace collapsed to the ground with a scream. The children knelt by their mother, little Sam crying with worry as she shook her mother's shoulder.

Sam made to go to her mother's aid but Daniel stopped her with a sad expression, shaking his head in a silent refusal. They both went as white as sheets when they heard the woman whisper as she sobbed hysterically,

"Oh, Mel."

They exchanged a glance and then a younger Jacob sprinted in, asking Mark as he moved little Sam out of the way to kneel at his wife's side, taking her into his arms, "Mark, what happened?"

Mark replied with a shrug, visibly upset, "She was reading the paper. She was reading the paper and she just went down. I don't know why."

Jacob, moved by his wife's condition, held her in his arms, gently shushing her as she sobbed, and he said to his children, "You two, go outside."

Little Sam asked, worried and still crying, "What's wrong with Mommy?"

Jacob replied, gazing down at his wife, "Nothing. Now be a good girl and go outside with your brother. Now. Mark."

Mark reluctantly took his sister's hand, leaving the house as they were told, and Daniel held his own crying wife tightly as Jacob asked Grace, "Grace, what is it? What's wrong?"

Grace shook her head, refusing to talk, and he remarked, a little frustrated, "It's gotta be something. Last time I checked, people didn't just collapse like that. Did you see something bad?"

Grace sniffed in his hold, still crying as she replied between gasps, "No Jake, I just need to go to bed. Just don't ask me anything."

Worried, he picked her up in his arms as she continued sobbing, and he walked out of the room, the Jacksons hearing his footfalls ascending the stairs. Daniel looked at a now only tearful Sam, who wiped her eyes as she looked at where the Carters had gone, and he said, looking at her sadly as he caressed her cheek,

"Are you ok?"

She nodded and he kissed her hair as he held her. She stepped out of his embrace a few moments later, crouching down to look at the newspaper on the floor. Finding that she couldn't touch it, she looked at it as he approached from behind her, and she gasped on seeing the same story that she had a cutting of back in their own time.

He said softly as he gently encouraged her to stand up, his own heart feeling heavy at his own grief surrounding the present period, "We can't affect anything here. It's a failsafe. We're time-travelling 'Christmas Carol style'."

She nodded, and he asked, "Do you want to go home now?"

She shook her head and replied, composing herself, "I think we need to go back earlier, Daniel. This just confirms that she was sad at Dad's passing. We need something that definitely says that they were an item of sorts. They were seeing each other from before Mark was born… but we know that Mark's a Carter – it's obvious."

"Well, seeing as Mark was born in 1963, it could mean any time before that."

"How about something more recent? They made a decision not to see each other. It'd be useful to know why."

"Maybe they thought it was too risky. We're born within two months of each other, remember... Mom… your Mom was pregnant with you while mine was with me, and if they'd met up during that time, or corresponded, he'd know… and maybe he had a crisis of conscience. Or at least I hope he did."

She hugged him, sensing and seeing his growing distrust of his own father, and he said with a resigned sigh, "Come on, let's go. I'm just going to play this by ear… or, ahem, Whitelighter powers."


	5. Fete

_I don't know whether Nashua in New Hampshire has a fair of any sort… but they might. ((shrugs)). Ssh, no-one say anything, they won't notice… lol_

_--------------------_

Sam asked, confused as she stared around them at what looked to be a crowded fête, "Jackson, where the hell are we?!"

Daniel replied, wondering why on Earth, or otherwise considering their unconventional jobs, they were in what looked to be a country fair, "Uh… no idea."

Worried, she asked as she frowned in thought, "Can we get home again?"

"Oh yeah… this is just like VR. Remember when we went to see my parents? Just like that. If anyone cries, we'll hear them."

"Ok."

"… I think."

She shot him a look that, had Teal'c been there, the Jaffa would have been expecting to sing in Castrato in under a minute, and then they both gaped in shock on seeing a somewhat younger looking Grace at a Preserve stall. Sam frowned and then her hand went over her mouth in shock.

Just as Daniel asked her what was wrong, she turned her head and saw Jacob dressed in regular Air Force uniform, his navy blue cap at an angle on his head. The young officer walked to Grace, talking quietly to her for a few moments, and then when she had nodded, kissed her and walked away again.

Daniel remarked with a little smile, somewhat distracted by their surroundings, "I've never seen Dad as emotionally candid as that."

Sam nodded and they both watched as a few seconds later, a startlingly familiar looking man approached, with longish brown hair and dark framed glasses. Frowning and then agape on hearing an announcement, she said, turning to look at a confused Daniel who was looking past her at his father,

"Daniel!"

Shaking his shoulders to get his attention, she continued, "I know what year it is. It's the Nashua Town fair."

Confused even further, he asked, "Uh… yeah, what about it?"

"Mom and Dad lived in New Hampshire in 1961... two years before Mark was born."

"Oh."

"We need to get closer."

"Hey, we are invisible here. Come on, Colonel."

They approached the man and woman who were now talking to each other under the guise of looking at jars of Preserve. They then inconspicuously walked away together in the opposite direction to that of Jacob, with Sam and Daniel hot on their tails.

They followed their parent and parent-in-law through the mêlée, and eventually behind a van. In the cramped space behind the vehicle, Melburn gently cupped Grace's jaw as she gazed up at him, her hands on his chest. They kissed, the unseen children of the future shying away in awkwardness at the affectionate display. When they parted, Grace said with a glowing smile, her arms around his neck as his went around her waist,

"I've been counting the days 'til today. How is everything? How's Claire?"

He kissed her softly, replying as he rested his head on her shoulder, kissing her neck, "We came back from Mexico with my father-in-law last week. Claire's fine – her mother's in town."

He groaned and continued, gazing at her, his head still on her shoulder as she smiled at him, lightly tracing his features with her fingers, "I've been wanting to hold you for so long. I don't know what it is you do to me, but I can't stop thinking about you."

"I could say the same for you. I wish we didn't have to do it like this though. I don't want to have to hide."

He straightened up, gazing at her lovingly, a hint of pain in his eyes as he said, rubbing her jaw slowly, "I don't want to either. But we're both married. You love Jake, and I love Claire. I can't… we can't… God, it halfway kills me to think of his hands on you but…"

She blinked back tears as they held onto each other a little tighter, and she said, closing her eyes, "I'm jealous of your wife. She gets to wake up with you."

"Oh, my Gracie… I wish things had been different. We would have been so happy together."

As they continued their kisses and caresses, an angry Daniel closed his eyes and turned away as an upset Sam clamped a hand over her mouth, tears running down her cheeks as she watched the scene unfold, shaking her head slowly in stunned disbelief. Daniel counted to ten and then exhaled, before turning to his wife who looked up at him and said, still upset,

"We weren't supposed to be born."

Daniel, still angry, said as he took her hand, "Come on Sam, we're going."

Surprised at his unusual anger and the way he was taking charge, she dried her eyes and nodded. His angry expression melted for the briefest of moments and then they closed their eyes as their surroundings gradually faded away, swirling around them in one last embrace before dissolving into a roaring eternity.

--------------------

After discovering that they had only been away for a few minutes, and after Sam had checked on the children, she returned to their room to find Daniel stood in front of the window, hugging himself as he looked out into the night with a troubled expression on his face.

She quietly approached him from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist as she rested her chin on his shoulder. He glanced back at her briefly, and she asked,

"What are we going to do?"

He replied with a soft sigh, "I don't know. What is there to do?"

His voice wavering with tears and turbulent emotion, he continued, "I always thought my parents were in love… they even went together in the end. I always thought they loved each other…"

He turned around to look at her and asked, "Does it mean that I was a mistake, that my parents' marriage was hanging by a thread? God, it was the only real family I had during my childhood, and it turned out to be a sham…"

Feeling as well as witnessing his tumultuous emotions, she hugged him tightly as he cried against her shoulder, her fingers gently running through his hair. She whispered, kissing his ear,

"No, Daniel… your parents loved each other. I saw that with my own eyes. It's just… things are rarely black and white. You of all people know that."

He shook his head and said, "It's not the same."

"Hey, well, at least you don't have doubts about your parentage, regardless of whether your parents loved each other. Anyway… I don't know what to do. Do we go back to when they first met?"

"We don't know when that is… but I imagine that it's before 1961. Sam… I don't think I'm ready. I just… I just feel so much anger towards Dad right now. How could he have done that to Mom? It doesn't bear thinking about. Sorry."

She shook her head and said with a sigh, "Maybe they really loved each other… and perhaps if they hadn't been living in a time when things were more difficult, they might have been an item."

"As much as it pains me to say this, we're going to have to look more into this. Not tonight though… well, not right now."

"Hey, do you think Dad… my Dad knows?"

"Maybe."

He barely suppressed a yawn, and she smiled slightly, saying as they sat down, the Colonel holding him in her arms as he rested his head against her bosom, "You need some sleep. The past will still be there in the morning."

She kissed his forehead, and closed her eyes as she lay down, still holding him. He whispered against her chest, growing drowsy,

"I'm going to miss you when your maternity leave's done and dusted with. It's nice sleeping like this."

--------------------

Still in the same position and unable to sleep, Sam sighed softly as she gazed at the man whose head was still against her bosom, his troubles far away while he slept. She gently ran her fingers through his hair with a fond smile, and then looked up at the ceiling in deep thought.

She knew that her parents had had problems, but up until now, she had always thought that they were grounded in her father's work taking precedence over everything else. Now it looked as though it wasn't that…or at least, not totally. It looked to be that the biggest obstacle between her parents had been one Melburn Jackson.

She was somehow numb to it all, which she would have normally put down to the psychological aftermath of what she had been through over the past decade and a half, but Daniel was patently not numb. It was tough on him especially. It had cast doubt over his perception of what he remembered of his parents' relationship. After everything that he had been through, he didn't need to experience more pain and heartache, but they had to know what happened. They couldn't just leave it.

She gently kissed his temple and settled back down, feeling his heartbeat against hers, and she whispered, "Oh Daniel… I wish I could take your pain away."

She was about to close her eyes when a huge flash of white light engulfed the darkness of the room, the light retreating after the initial splash to reveal her father, dressed in brown trousers and a cream coloured jumper, illuminated by a light source unseen.

She smiled, saying, "Dad."

Jacob asked, glancing a little awkwardly at the man in her arms, "I… I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

Sam replied, stroking Daniel's hair, "Daniel's asleep, Dad."

Jacob took a step forward and Sam raised her hand over Daniel's sleeping head, a white light illuminating his face briefly, and she remarked with a little grimace, "Hopefully that worked. I'm not too confident about these powers."

Jacob replied with a little smile as he sat on the edge of the bed as Sam sat up, carefully laying Daniel down on the bed before hugging her father, "Ah, you'll get used to it. So how are you doing, kiddo?"

"Fine, Dad."

"Kids?"

"They're fine too. How's… up there?"

Jacob said, holding his daughter's hand, "Not too bad. Sel and I get a lot more travelling in this job. We still haven't covered the whole universe yet."

Sam smiled. "It's a big place."

"Oh, that doesn't cover it."

Sam exhaled quietly and asked as she watched her father, noticing how thoughtful he looked, "Dad… what are you doing here?"

Jacob looked down at his hands and then back at his daughter, replying, "I know what you know."

Sam looked half-surprised, and Jacob continued, "Your mother never knew, but I always knew about Melburn. I never knew his last name, but I knew about him."

Sam asked, sounding scared and spooked, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Well kiddo… you get to a certain stage where it doesn't really matter any more."

"How can you say that?"

Jacob gazed at his daughter and said, shaking his head slightly, "You don't know what I'm talking about, and quite frankly, I'm glad you don't. We had problems for years… things happened, and let's just say that it wasn't just Grace who… started seeing other people."

Sam asked, visibly upset, "It was a marriage in name only?"

Jacob sighed, looking wistful as he replied, touching her cheek, "Oh Sammy, I told you that you didn't know what I was talking about. I loved your mother… and even if I had to go through everything that I had after she left us, knowing what I do now, I'd do it all over again. That is love, Sam."

Sam began to cry quietly, remembering the hallucination of her father so long ago aboard the long destroyed Prometheus, and he continued, "And I think, maybe, Grace would have said that about me. That's why we never called it off. We were in love, but… well, I never loved anyone else. Melburn, on the other hand, gave Grace things that... that I could never give her. That's probably why I didn't punch his lights out when I found out… although looking back, I guess I should have. I should have fought for your mother, but I didn't want to lose her."

He looked at Sam earnestly and said, "You were born out of love, my Sammy, you and your brother. I assure you that you weren't mistakes. It's just that Melburn was always in the background. It was one hell of a complicated relationship."

Sam sniffed back tears and asked in anguish, a heavy rainfall outside, "How can you expect me to believe that, Dad? You both played around… Mom was in love with Daniel's Dad. What if they'd made a mistake and had a child together?"

Jacob pulled his daughter into his arms and said, his eyes moist, "Sam… you never knew. Looking back now, it's so much clearer."

Scared, Sam pulled back and asked, "What is?"

Jacob swallowed and replied, a grim expression on his face which melted into pain, "I think he did make her pregnant. She lost a baby after the fair at Nashua. It hurt for a long time and our marriage was pretty much on the rocks by then… she refused to speak to me. I wanted to share in her pain, but she wouldn't let me."

Drying her eyes, Sam said, feeling utterly sad, "Dad, that doesn't mean that the baby wasn't yours. It's normal. She would have been in such a lot of pain… oh my God, I can't believe…"

Suddenly she gasped and said, "Oh God… no, if it was Dad's… uh, Daniel's Dad's, then that means we are related after all. Dad… I can't go through this again… and it's already hard on Daniel."

He stroked her cheek again and replied, "You aren't brother and sister. It doesn't really matter if the baby was your father-in-law's or not."

She hugged him and asked, her chin resting on his shoulder, "Where do we go from here, Dad? We can't just leave it. It's important."

His cheek resting against her hair, he replied, "More than you know, kiddo."

Confused, she released him and asked, noticing much to her bewilderment that he was having trouble meeting her gaze, "What is it? You know something else, don't you?"

When he didn't say anything, she said, touching his hand, "Dad?"

He finally looked at her with a sigh and replied, "You've got such a long journey in front of you, Sammy. A lot of it isn't going to be very nice, but… well, I'll let you see. I promise that, at the end of this stretch, you'll know a few more things about the past, which will help you to understand the present and the future better."

He stood up and she asked, upset, "Dad?"

He began to glow brighter and he said with a wistful smile as she got up to hug him, "The advantage to being ascended, without the limitations of a corporeal form, is that I have an eternity to think and to explore. I've got to go now."

Sam asked as the light grew brighter, so bright that it became hard to see, "Will I ever see you again?"

"You bet, kiddo. Give my regards to Danny, and my love to my wonderful grandchildren."

He touched her cheek and said wistfully, "You look so much like your mother, Sammy."

Tears in her eyes, she watched as he faded away, rising to the ceiling in orbs of white and yellow light. She sniffed back more tears as the room descended into darkness once more, her mind full of the things that she had learnt.


	6. Gatey Business

In the control room of the SGC, Reynolds, in command of the base once again now that Sam was on maternity leave, ran up the steps to where Walter was, and asked as the gate technician looked up, "Chief, what's up?"

Reynolds looked up through the glass of the control room window to see the Iris clamped tightly over the front of the active Stargate with armed soldiers aiming their firearms at it and Walter replied, "Receiving IDC now, Sir…"

The Sergeant blinked in surprise and said, "It's… it's the Tok'ra, Sir."

Surprised too, Reynolds replied, "Oh… well, let 'em through. It could be important."

"Yes Sir."

Reynolds jogged out of the control room, down to the gateroom, as Anise stepped through. The Colonel ordered for the guns to be put away, and he said, stepping forward as Anise reached the end of the ramp,

"Hi Anise."

Anise asked, looking around the room and not seeing anyone she recognised, "Where is SG-1? Where is Colonel Jackson?"

"Well… SG-1's on Dakara meeting with the Free Jaffa council, and the Colonel's on maternity leave."

Anise looked confused, and he continued, rolling his eyes a little, "Uh… she's taking a vacation from running the base because she had a baby a few months back."

Anise bowed and said, "My apologies. Your language perplexes me."

"Well, I'm guessing you didn't come to check out the décor. Come on."

He led her out of the gateroom, escorting her to the briefing room as he asked, "So… what's up?"

--------------------

After calling Sam to the base, who had been accompanied by Daniel, the Archaeologist taking any chance to come back to the mountain, Reynolds sat with the Jacksons in the briefing room as Anise addressed them, standing near the front of the room,

"In our recent explorations, the Tok'ra have discovered something of potentially great importance. Erebus has long since been abandoned by the Goa'uld since the fall of the Ori and the reconstruction of the Free Jaffa nation."

'_Jackson… this doesn't sound good._'

'_Colonel, it's the Tok'ra… what did you expect?_'

'_A fruit basket perhaps._'

'_Wow, is Jack contagious?_'

Reynolds raised his eyebrows briefly as he glanced at Sam, who shrugged slightly, the Astrophysicist looking at Daniel, who asked, "What do you want with Erebus? I thought the Free Jaffa wanted to build another monument there to commemorate the fall of the Goa'uld. It was a labour camp after all."

"That is true, Daniel Jackson… but we have discovered something quite possibly of great significance. On the planet surface, there is the entrance to what we believe to be a sizeable subterranean complex."

Reynolds remarked, "Well, so you can't open it. What do you want us to do about your nosiness?"

Anise cocked her head in confusion at the word, and Sam asked, discreetly smiling, "What Colonel Reynolds is asking, is why you would require our assistance. You have sufficient technology and a lot more time than we do."

Anise replied, clasping her hands on the table, "Colonel Jackson, we do not have technology to open impenetrable constructions that are locked by a lock consisting of light. It is beyond our physical capabilities. All attempts to open it have failed."

Sam and Daniel exchanged a look of muted surprise on mention of the lock, and Reynolds asked, raising an eyebrow at them, "Jacksons?"

Sam glanced at Reynolds and asked Anise, "What do you think is in it? Is it safe?"

Anise replied, "The construction appears to be Asgard in design, but it could contain Ancient technology as you have witnessed prior to the fall of the Ori. The Asgard discovered many Ancient storage places and safeguarded them as best they could. The Tok'ra believe that it could be of vital importance, perhaps to the entire galaxy, and it could have devastating consequences if the remaining Goa'uld are allowed to discover it."

Daniel asked, "Is the planet safe?"

"All scans have shown that the planet contains no life other than the local flora."

"What about their… Iris?"

"If you are referring to the protective shield protecting their Stargate, the Tok'ra have deactivated it as the signal could alert the Goa'uld."

Sam looked at Reynolds and asked, "So, simple reconnaissance?"

Reynolds remarked in amusement, "When has it ever been simple with you people?"

He continued as both Daniel and Sam hid smiles, "Let's wait for the rest of the team. You guys like doing it democratically. I think we should have Teal'c here at the very least."

--------------------

Later on, after the rest of the team had returned from Dakara and had been fully briefed on the situation, and Jack had rang from D.C. to authorise a cessation of Sam's maternity leave, the full complement of SG-1 stood in the gateroom as Walter began the dialling sequence.

Cam remarked as he patted Sam on the shoulder, "It's nice having you back on top, Colonel. How're you doing?"

Sam smiled, replying as she looked up at the 'gate, his hand still on her shoulder, "It always seems to draw me back, wherever I am and whatever I'm doing."

Teal'c added with a tiny smile, "Indeed."

Vala asked, "So, are you coming back?"

Sam looked at Daniel, who smiled a little at her, and she replied, looking back at Vala, "I might do."

Jonas said, looking chipper, "Good. It's been different without you... both of you."

Sam touched his elbow briefly right as the 'gate dialled, and Cam remarked ebulliently, "Oh yeah, we're Wham and George Michael again, and not just Wham."

Sam looked at him oddly and then, as Reynolds stood next to Walter's seat in the control room, looked around at her team, asking, "Right, you guys ready?"

They all made gestures or murmurings of acquiescence, and she said, straightening her hat on her head before patting her P-90, "Allons-y, folks!"

As the rest of the team followed her through the active event horizon, Cam muttered to Daniel, "_Allons__-y_?"

Daniel replied with a quiet sigh, hoping that his wife wasn't in love with the Time Lord, "It's from the Doctor."

'_Jackson, Jackson, Jackson… this is not the time for jealousy and little insecurities._'


	7. The Greatest Cowboy

On the planet surface of Erebus, Sam gave the order to fan out around the 'gate as a precautionary measure before gathering her team together again after their immediate surroundings had been established as safe. She said, constantly assessing the situation as her eyes and Teal'c's instinctively roved their surroundings,

"Right folks… UAV telemetry showed an artificial construction emitting tachyon radiation within acceptable limits, three clicks to the west. I'm going to need muscle over expertise until we know it's safe."

She exhaled, and continued, looking around at her team, "This is Goa'uld terrain, and only Jackson, Teal'c and myself have extensive experience in this field. _However_, seeing as it would be impractical to have both Jackson and myself in the same place when our abilities could contribute to the overall welfare of the team, and success of this mission… Mitchell, Teal'c, you're with me… Mitchell two, Quinn, Jackson, guard the 'gate. I'll come back to get you when we come across the lock… understood?"

The rest of the team nodded or murmured in acquiescence, and Vala remarked with a small grin, "Nice to have you back, Samantha."

Sam smiled briefly, nodding slightly, before saying as Cam patted her on the shoulder, "Quinn, Mitchell two, Jackson, radio silence unless absolutely necessary. Teal'c, Mitchell, let's go, boys."

--------------------

As they reached a towering obelisk made of sand and inscribed with Asgard characters, Cam remarked as they looked up at it in wonder as well as caution, "This was so much smaller in the photos."

Teal'c replied, an eyebrow rising briefly, "Indeed. Perhaps it was due to the compression of the image in relation to the size of the photographic printout."

Sam smiled and said as Cam gradually looked amused, "Teal'c, you're getting funnier. The General's going to be happy."

Teal'c smiled slightly in reply, and Cam asked, looking around the structure, "What's the plan?"

Sam replied, going around the other way, looking up at the inscriptions as Teal'c stood in front of the structure, "Well, the Tok'ra got in, the Tok'ra who can't read Asgard or Ancient very well. They must have got under this somehow."

The three of them walked around the obelisk, looking for clues. Sam was about to press the button on her radio when she heard gunfire and energy weapon blasts in the distance, the three immediate members of SG-1 instantly leaping behind the structure to use it as a firing position.

'_Jackson, report!_''

'_Lucian Alliance ambush, Colonel. They must have been out of range… I can't believe I…_'

'_Never mind. Can you hold them off?_'

'_I don't know. I don't want to use my powers._'

Sam closed her eyes as Teal'c and Cam, flanking her, readied themselves, and she reached out to his mind. Cam looked at Sam, worried, and then looked at Teal'c, who managed to convey in one look that he shouldn't disturb her. Cam nodded as he checked his pockets for clips and extra ammo, remarking quietly,

"Damn psychics."

Sam felt as though her eyes were far away, in a distant place but not detached from her body. She opened them, seeing a violent exchange of fire between the rest of her team and a large group of Lucian Alliance members, vastly outnumbering the whole of SG-1, never mind half.

'_Daniel, it's them or us. They're not going to leave us._'

'_They're here for whatever's in that chamber._'

'_It must be important then._'

She gasped in shock as Jonas got shot in the arm, and then Daniel, which resulted in her receiving a wound to her own body. She grimaced, keeping the connection open as she amassed power in his mind as his body faltered due to the injuries to his arm and other parts of his body.

'_Colonel…_'

'_Dammit Jackson, we're not giving up._'

She focussed angrily on the hoards of Lucian Alliance members, each man falling to the ground unconscious. As she broke the connection, Cam and Teal'c caught her as she fell back with a gasp, and Cam asked with a worried frown,

"What happened?"

Sam replied, breathing a little heavily, "I knocked them out. We don't have much time. Jackson and Quinn are injured."

Cam asked, forgetting professionalism for a moment, "What about Vala?"

Sam said with a nod, getting her breath back, "She's fine."

She closed her eyes again, and suddenly Cam leapt back in surprise when the prone figure of Daniel appeared in front of them, flanked by a profusely bleeding Jonas, and an emotionally stricken Vala, who held Daniel's head in her lap, bluish-white light fading around them. Cam asked, noticing how Sam was trying hard to hide her emotions,

"Sam, are you…"

Sam replied quietly as she kneeled by Daniel's side, "I'm fine."

She raised a hand over Jonas' arm as she looked down at her husband, unsure of what to do as she ignored the pain of her own wounds sustained as a result of her empathic connection with her husband. Jonas, Vala and Cam watched in surprise, still not used to seeing the Ancient healing process as the Kelownan's arm healed before their eyes.

'_Daniel?_'

She closed her eyes and heard his voice inside her head, barely audible above the hubbub of her own mental processes, '_Sam… I don't think I'm going to ascend this time._'

Her resolve strengthened, she took a deep breath and raised her hands over his body, remarking aloud as her friends looked on in concern, "You're not doing this to me or the team again, Jackson."

'_Sam… really, it's not going to work._'

'_Dammit, Jackson. That's quitter talk._'

He opened his eyes to gaze up at her, whispering weakly with a little smile as he felt his life ebbing away from him, "Samantha... so proud of you. Tell our babies I…"

Sam focussed her mind, determined that she wasn't going to cry or lose her focus as his eyes closed. Right as Cam was about to put a hand on her shoulder to pull her back, she said, focussing further,

"Mitchell, back away. This _is_ going to work."

SG-1 exchanged little concerned looks before their gazes were drawn to the white light that engulfed Daniel's prone body, Sam's eyes closed, her face tilted upwards as it looked as though she was channelling her energy into her husband.

Suddenly, the light vanished and she collapsed from the exertion, Teal'c grabbing her as Cam called her name, and Daniel sat up with a huge gasp, looking around himself in shock. Breathing heavily, he looked at Sam, and asked,

"What… what happened?"

Cam remarked, checking Sam over, a worried expression on his face, "What, before or after Sam brought you back from the dead?"

Vala added, looking spooked as she glanced at Jonas, "I don't know how you got used to him coming back and forth from the brink of death… it's disturbing."

Jonas shrugged, and Daniel patted his arms and his chest, feeling that his wounds were not there any more and he asked in abject worry, looking at his wife being laid out unconscious on the ground, "Is she going to be alright?... I can't feel her as strongly."

Daniel kneeled by her side, holding her hand against his lips, tears surging in his eyes as he said quietly, "Sam, come on. You're not giving up now. Not now."

Jonas looked at Daniel and asked, "Can't you heal her?"

"I don't know how. I have to have the right focus and I don't…"

Vala asked, looking down at Sam, "Do you know what happened?"

Daniel closed his eyes, fighting back oncoming tears as he replied, "Sam gave me her life energy. I thought I was going to die but she brought me back… and now I'm going to lose her."

Cam remarked with a grimace, "Not one to renege on a promise, our girl."

Cam looked around at the rest of the team and said, "Well, we've got to carry on with the mission. I know why she saved Jackson. It wasn't just because he's her husband, or that he's under her command… we need him to read the Ancient."

He looked at Daniel and said, "We have to leave Sam. One of us is going to have to stay behind with her. I would but I'm her second-in-command, which means that it's my responsibility to ensure that the mission goes to plan… those Lucian Alliance folks are only going to stay out for the count for so long. You ok with it?"

Daniel replied, touching his wife's cheek, "I guess I'll have to be."

"You can stay here. We've got Jonas."

Glancing at Jonas, Daniel said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "No offence, but you do need me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I can read Ancient without focussing properly."

Cam sighed and watched him for a moment before saying, "Ok, Vala, you're with Sam. T, you're guarding the entrance… Jackson, Quinn, we're going in."

--------------------

After a few hours, as the men worked on getting into the obelisk, a glowing white light rose from Sam's torso, shooting up into the air and straight for the structure. Vala called into her radio, looking up at the light,

"Um… boys? There's some white light coming out of Sam."

Cam's voice called back, "White light?"

"Yep."

"The same white light coming towards us?"

"Quite possibly. Stand back."

"Copy that."

As Vala, from her kneeling position, and the men, from their positions, looked up at the obelisk, the structure opened up like a flower, a yellow coloured energy crackling between the 'petals', purple hued energy surging upwards, billowing into the sky and then turning the sky the same colour.

As both Daniel and Teal'c mentioned the words 'super weapon', 'Dakara', and 'certain extent', the men stepping back to a safe distance, their firearms drawn, Vala looked down to see, much to her surprise, Sam waking up. The Colonel quickly got up, remarking as she suddenly clutched her head in pain from the sudden movement,

"Ouch, that's going to kill in the morning. It hurts like hell _now._"

Vala asked, looking at her out of the corner of her eye in concern, "Samantha? Are you ok?"

Sam replied cheerfully, checking her P-90 and putting her hat back on, "Oh yeah. Come on, let's go."

Vala frowned and said, still cautious, "No, stay here a second. You were unconscious for hours and now you're practically bouncing up and down. You're never this cheerful… not like this."

The dark-haired woman reached for her radio, about to call into it, when Sam rolled her eyes and said, already walking towards the open obelisk, "Come on, stop wasting time, Mitchell two. We need to get in."

Vala watched her with concern and caution as she followed, keeping an eye out for any sudden movements or attacks from her friend. Reaching the obelisk, Sam said, waving,

"Guys, go in… it knows who we are."

As the men looked back at her in shock, Cam looking at Vala, who shrugged, Daniel stepped forward, his breath catching in his throat on seeing his wife upright when he thought that she was going to be ill at the very least, and he said, his hands raised as he kept a cautious eye on her, disturbed at not being able to feel her mentally,

"Colonel, I think you'd better stop right there."

Sam stopped and said with a smile, throwing her hands down as a perturbed Teal'c stepped forward with a worried Cam and Jonas, all three raising firearms and aiming them at the Colonel as Daniel kept his hands visible, "Oh, come on guys. Simple five hour hibernation cycle to recharge my cells."

When they all looked at her, not reacting to her words, she rolled her eyes and continued, "For cryin' out loud, what the hell is wrong with you?! Oh… right, it's because I'm… look, never mind. We need to get in now before the Lucian Alliance guys wake up. It's not going to be pretty."

When their guns still didn't move, she sighed and casually cast them from their clutches. Before she could shift Teal'c's staff weapon, Daniel clenched his jaw and fought back, stopping it from leaving the Jaffa's grip as he said, his head angled as he looked at her, cold fury in his eyes,

"Colonel, put your hands down, now."

Cam covered his eyes with his hand as he muttered, "Aw jeez, Jackson domestic."

Sam put her hands down, shooting her husband a raised eyebrow, and she said, a little more soberly, "Right, in, now… otherwise we're going to be too late."

Jonas asked, looking at her sceptically, "How do you know this?"

"Who do you think opened this darned thing in the first place?!"

The others looked to Teal'c, who said, an eyebrow raised as he looked at Sam with a stony expression, "I believe that there is truth in what ColonelJackson has said, but we must proceed with caution."

Sam remarked, shaking her head slightly as she walked in, leading her friends into a doorway that appeared in a large crack in the obelisk, "Fine, you don't trust me, but you need me, so less yap-yap, and more follow the leader, please. Thank you."

The rest of the team exchanged uneasy glances and then followed her in, their firearms ready should the situation take a turn for the worse, and the Astrophysicist continued, "Wow… no wonder General O'Neill barely smiled – he was probably scared we'd shoot him. Yeesh… Look, explanations later. Just trust me for once, ok? Trust, trusty, trusting…"

The rest of the team slowed to lengthen the distance between themselves and her, and Cam said quietly, looking at Daniel, "Ok, just what the hell is going on? She's starting to sound like the Doctor."

Daniel shrugged, and Vala said, "Maybe she is the Doctor."

When the rest of the team looked at her oddly, she continued, "He may be here and you know how he was protective of Samantha."

Daniel grimaced and walked through his friends, not wanting to hear any more about the Time Lord from Gallifrey, and Jonas remarked as Teal'c's eyebrow went up, Cam looking ever so slightly amused, "Great, we not only have an odd Jackson, but we have a jealous one too."


	8. The Greatest Cowboy, Part II

_Lyrics featured are Ponies by John Denver… oh, and I wasn't sure about a Doctor Who crossover, but it ties in better with the last story if it is, so… the header information of chapter one has changed to accommodate this – thoughts in a review more than welcome._

_--------------------_

As the team navigated dark and winding passages, the only lights coming their P-90s, Teal'c said, "The Tok'ra are evidently incapable of opening the structure. It is perplexing how they reached the lock that they described, and yet we have not encountered it as of yet."

Sam replied, a good couple of metres in front of them, gesturing with the hand that wasn't holding her P-90, "Easy. They got the guest entrance which leads straight to the lock… a simple piece of space-time compression. It's a safety feature to ensure that no-one gets in who shouldn't be there. They meet the lock, the lock meets them, and they leave because they can't open it… or in the case of a nasty Goa'uld, they can't shoot their way in."

Jonas asked as the others looked confused, the Kelownan scratching his neck in puzzlement, "Uh… how does it know whether we're guests or not?"

"It recognised me. I can't explain it yet but it knows who I am."

Cam looked at Daniel oddly, the Archaeologist asking, "Are you saying that the building's sentient?"

"You… you could say that. The Tok'ra got the guest entrance… but we got a backstage pass."

Cam smiled briefly and then asked, "You do know where we're going, right?"

"Well… maybe."

The team exchanged looks of muted panic, and Sam continued with a chuckle, "Relax guys, it's an instinct thing… like Jackson knowing when to come to Atlantis when he was a father for the third… or second time."

The team then looked at Daniel, who retorted icily, "This is _nothing_ like that."

"Oh don't be so grouchy, Jackson. Didn't I tell you that you're cuter when you're not frowning… although…"

Cam quietly guffawed as Jonas and Vala hid smiles, Teal'c smirking ever so slightly as Daniel grumbled something under his breath about extroverted Colonels. Their attentions were drawn back to the mission and their present situation when Sam stopped, shining the flashlight of her P-90 across the huge rocky doorway that barred their path.

She said, exhaling as the light beam fell upon a familiar lock with a bar of bluish-white energy, "Right folks, this is it. Jackson, you still feeling worthy?"

As she stepped aside, feigning innocence, Daniel shot her a look and then flexed his hand before touching the bar of the padlock. When nothing happened, Cam remarked, rolling his eyes,

"And we've come so far…"

Sam said quietly, touching Daniel's forearm, "Try it again."

When repeated attempts didn't work, Vala said, "Samantha… you seemed to know where we were going… Why don't you touch it?"

Sam frowned and replied, "I don't know. I've never done it before. Ok, no, it worked once when I was in Atlantis. Alrighty, here goes nothing."

She was about to touch it when Daniel stopped her, squinting at the surface of the door as he said, "Colonel, wait. There's something written here."

Sam put her hand down as Teal'c stepped forward with his P-90s to give Daniel more light, and the Archaeologist read the inscription, written in Ancient, and he said with a slight frown, looking at his wife eventually, "It doesn't make any sense. It says that only the Star of Ma'at…"

Cam asked sceptically, "_Star of Mat?_"

"Ma'_at. _Only the Star of Ma'at can open this chamber."

Jonas asked, "Well, what does it mean? Ma'at sounds familiar."

Daniel replied, "It means 'truth' in Ancient Egyptian. Ma'at is the female deification of law, morality and justice… She oversaw the movements of the stars and the seasons, the actions of mortals and gods… she was believed to have set the order of the Universe out of the chaos of creation. It's her feather that was used on the scales of judgement."

He added quietly, looking back at the door, "We used one at Sha're's funeral weigh her heart against."

Vala frowned in confusion at the concept, Cam placing a discreet hand on her shoulder to stop her from saying anything as Sam gazed at her husband in sadness as Teal'c looked increasingly grim, Jonas worried. After a moment, Sam asked,

"What do we do then?"

Daniel shook his head and then looked at her, replying, "I have no idea. I've never even heard of this… _Star of Ma'at._"

Vala remarked, "And then there's the impracticalities of getting a star and…"

Daniel said, cutting her off with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I don't think it's literal."

Cam asked, looking around at the team, "So what do we do?"

Teal'c said, an eyebrow rising briefly, "I believe that ColonelJackson should at least attempt to unlock the door."

He continued when everyone looked at him, "It is only prudent seeing as Samantha unlocked the obelisk."

Sam nodded and when Daniel stepped aside, she took his place, remarking, "Wish me luck."

She tentatively touched the bar, and they stumbled backwards as a deep rumbling resounded in front of them, the vibrations almost throwing them off their feet. Guns aimed, they stepped back, Cam shouting over the sound as the door moved,

"Sam?"

Sam replied, looking spooked, "I think we just found the star."

"Dang, it never rains but it pours…"

Daniel looked at his wife wide-eyed as the door cracked straight down the middle, the two parts sliding away from each other to allow the team to gain access. They slowly stepped through the doorway, looking around in surprise when, at the same time, the door slid shut behind them and torches lit around the chamber beneath them as they stood on a rocky promontory.

Vala remarked, swallowing in uncertainty, "Well, this seems to be like the Ark of Truth mission… or rather what we saw from that video screen… but we're all here."

Sam looked around at her team to make sure, and Cam asked, "How do we get down?"

Sam glanced down at the large drop and said, "Everyone hold my hands, shoulders, whatever…"

The team rest of the team looked at her oddly before slowly doing as she said. Daniel and Vala holding her hands, Cam, Jonas and Teal'c holding her shoulders and waist. The Astrophysicist closed her eyes and then said, "Trust me," before leaping off the promontory as the others, other than Teal'c of course, made noises of shock and fear. After the initial moment of panic and realising that they weren't falling to their deaths, they all looked down and then at Sam to see that they were levitating far above the chamber below, gradually lowering to the ground.

Daniel asked, looking at his wife, "How did you know?"

Sam replied with a little smile as she gazed at him, "Call it a hunch."

She looked back down as they came much closer to the ground, and she closed her eyes, focussing on landing safely. She opened her eyes in surprise a few moments later to find that they had finally landed. Cam exhaled and remarked as they all let her go,

"Oh… I think we should call that rocky outcrop _Miracle Leap_."

Jonas retorted, running his fingers through his hair, "Try _Perceived Death Leap_."

"That doesn't have the same ring to it."

Sam said, drawing their attention back to the surroundings as she stepped towards a large, raised stone platform a couple of metres in front of them, "Guys, you can flirt later."

Jonas smiled briefly as he got a camera from his pocket, taking photos as he cautiously stepped around the platform, making sure to get the Ancient and Asgard inscriptions in focus. Sam asked Daniel, her gun aimed just in case,

"Jackson, can you make anything of this?"

Daniel cautiously approached the platform, not wanting to get too close, and he said, frowning suddenly, "In both sets of inscriptions, it tells the story of a… a man who worked with bovines…"

Cam remarked, "Finally, cow hands instead of megalomaniacs."

Sam smiled briefly at him, and Daniel continued as Teal'c strode behind the platform, his staff weapon primed, "… uh, a man who worked with bovines… and is from Earth. He was the son of a native and of an Alteran."

Sam asked, an eyebrow rising slightly, "_Native_?"

"It doesn't say."

Sam closed her eyes for a moment and her eyes flew open as she heard music. She asked, looking around at the rest of the team,

"Did you guys just hear music?"

They all looked at her oddly, Daniel replying, "Uh… no."

Sam frowned as the music continued, and then her eyes widened on recognising the tune. She looked at Cam, Jonas and Vala, saying,

"Very funny guys… who brought a cell phone with them?!"

They looked confused, and Daniel said, stepping towards her slowly, "Sam, no-one's going to bring a cell with them, even if only to prank you with the alarm. What are you hearing?"

Sam exhaled, looking scared as she began to sing along to the words of a song that she now heard, her team looking more and more surprised, and wondering for a few moments whether she had finally lost it.

"_Somewhere, out on the prairie  
Is the greatest cowboy that's ever been  
And when he lays his hands upon the ponies  
They shudder with an understanding skin_

_And he says ponies  
Now ponies don't you worry  
I have not come to steal your fire away  
I want to fly with you across the sunrise  
Discover what begins each shining day…'_"

They all gaped in surprise as the platform began to glow a fiery yellow, and then white, and then Daniel stepped forward, frowning slightly… and then he joined in, now hearing the music too, and gesturing for the others to follow suit. They eventually did, exchanging looks on hearing it, and they joined in, despite some not even knowing the words originally,

"_When the storm clouds in the west are quickly gathering  
The ponies they run wild there before it rains,  
You'll see their sleek, dark bodies brightly gleaming  
You know the fire is flying through their brains_

_And he says ponies  
Now ponies don't you worry  
I have not come to steal your fire away  
I want to fly with you across the sunrise  
Discover what begins each shining day…_"

During the musical interlude that followed, the surface of the platform began to fade away, their guns instantly pointing to the opening as they continued singing, now unable to stop,

"_And he says ponies  
Now ponies don't you worry  
I have not come to steal your fire away  
I want to fly with you across the sunrise  
Discover what begins each shining day_

_And he says ponies  
Ponies don't you worry  
I have not come to steal your fire away  
I want to fly with you across the sunrise  
Discover what begins each shining day_

_I want to fly…_"

When the music faded into silence, Cam remarked, "Wow, who'd've thunk it… John Denver an alien."

They slowly walked forward, surrounding the platform as they kept an eye on the top of it, Sam replying with a brief incline of her head, "It's a musical lock. It latched onto our brainwave frequency. Even if anyone got this far, this… platform wouldn't have opened. It needed us to sing."

Cam remarked, "American Idol?"

Sam, her gun raised, slowly peered into the platform and then leapt back in surprise when a man wearing a medium-brown coloured Stetson sat up, and said with a southern drawl as he looked at Sam, "Your purtier than I thought you were gonna be."

Daniel stepped forward, ready to punch the man's lights out but Sam stopped him, raising her hand in his direction, and she peered at the man in front of her, and then paused in shock on realising who it was. Daniel looked at her, and Cam asked, an eye on the Stetsoned stranger,

"Colonel?"

Without a word, Sam took the man's Stetson off and hugged him, saying with tears in her eyes as everyone exchanged looks of surprise, "Doctor!"

The man, turning out to be the Doctor, said in that same southern accent, looking uneasy, "Hi! Nice to know that you're not gonna shoot me."

As Daniel, his face a thundercloud, turned away out of jealousy, Cam, Jonas and Vala turning away out of politeness with only Teal'c watching for safety's sake, Sam pulled back and looked at the Time Lord's face, saying as she noticed all the little differences,

"No, God, no, why would I shoot you?"

She frowned, cocking her head to one side as she asked, "What's with the accent?"

"This? Well, got stuck in the 1850's running all over the place… it should go in a couple of minutes. What year is it?"

Sam, worried, replied as she put her P-90 down and kneeled next to the platform, "2012."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up and he asked, "That long? You mean to tell me I've been stuck here for a hundred and thirty-one years?"

Sam asked, "_You're_ the greatest cowboy?"

Looking confused for a moment, he replied, "What… ah, no…"

He continued in his normal accent and vernacular, "No, big, big cultural thing going on here. You see, that Pat Garrett chap, terrible personal hygiene… he's a Goa'uld."

The others gathered around at the mention of 'Pat Garrett', and Cam said, a little sceptical, "_You're_ Billy the Kid?"

The Doctor cocked his head at the southern Colonel and said, "Wow, Charlotte, Shawnee County, and a little dash of Memphis."

"Very funny, Doc… you've met me before."

The Doctor frowned and said, "Um… no… no I haven't. You look familiar but I would remember meeting you."

Sam asked, "You don't remember coming to see us with Grace last year?"

"Grace! Oh…"

When the team all looked at him hopefully, the Doctor shook his head and continued soberly, "No… sorry. Doesn't ring a bell. I'm not usually a man to forget things like this…"

He noticed the SG-1 patch on Sam's shoulder, and the Earth symbol on the other, and he smiled, saying, "SG-1. I know you… not personally, obviously… but… you guys are legends."

Cam kneeled at Sam's side and whispered, "How come he doesn't remember us?"

Sam shrugged and then it clicked. She looked up at Daniel and said, the Archaeologist returning to her side after curbing his overwhelming jealousy,

"Daniel… it hasn't happened yet. Last year's his future."

The Doctor watched in muted amazement, and Vala asked as Cam looked confused, Jonas working it out, "Wait, how does that work? It happened last year."

Sam shook her head and said, in full blown lecture mode, "Nope, time doesn't flow in a linear manner. It loops back on itself, goes anywhere but straight. We should know, we've experienced alternate timelines before… not that we remember, but you get my point..."

She looked at a beaming Doctor, and continued, "We've already met him, but that meeting is in his future."

Vala and Cam exchanged a glance as Daniel smiled slightly, Jonas saying, "So, in effect, this could be our future if we were to go back in time now?"

She grimaced, and said, "Kind of."

She looked back at the Doctor and asked, "What were you going to say?"

The Doctor replied, "Me? Oh right."

He got up, Sam and Cam helping him out of the platform, and he stretched, remarking, "Oh, it feels good to be out of that damn thing… oops, pardon my French."

He looked around at the team, dressed in the clothes of a 19th century outlaw, and he said, "Ok… Pat Garrett is… was… whatever… a Goa'uld. This might come as a bit of a shock to you, but this is actually Billy the Kid's tomb… or was supposed to be. William Harrison Bonney aka William McCarthy aka William Antrim… was the son of an Ancient and a plain old human. It was said that if he died, the Star of Ma'at would be able to raise him up again. Seeing as the Ancients ascended him and I got killed in his place whilst in disguise, I'm alive again. This whole Billy the Kid cowboy legend was built up about him being a big outlaw, but he was actually a very nice chap. He had healing powers and used them to heal people, which really got up Garrett's nose. The legend was built up to make him look big and good, catching the big bad outlaw, but it was far from that in reality."

Sam said, "There's got to be more than that."

"And there is… you see, Billy was supposed to guard the Star of Ma'at, which is believed to be a ruby red stone of great power. No-one knows what it does, or even exactly what it looks like… Do you have it? You must have otherwise you wouldn't have got past all of Merlin's new-fangled security features?"

Daniel asked, puzzled, "Merlin liked John Denver?"

"Oh yeah, he had that whole cowboy thing down pat. Ok… right, so, stone? Anyone?"

The rest of the team, other than Teal'c, shrugged in confusion, Cam saying, "Sam got us in… we don't have a stone. She knew where she was going, and she heard the music first."

The Doctor sighed in contemplation and then said with a shrug, looking at Sam, "Well… it looks as though… Colonel is it?"

Sam nodded, and he continued, walking around her, "You are the star in person, although how that is, is completely perplexing. I mean, people have searched for the star for aeons… it's started wars… and… Right, I can see we have a lot to get through. First of all, anyone seen my ship? Big blue box… and then I want to know exactly where I am. I mean it's only fair… I completely changed your perceptions of a 19th century outlaw… the least you could do is buy me breakfast. Wait… that came out wrong…"


	9. Explanations

_Will – I've replied to your review on the reviews page in case anyone else had the same questions…: )_

_--------------------_

After SG-1 had each introduced themselves, Sam asked as they stood around in the chamber, "Where's the TARDIS?"

The Doctor looked at her in surprise, and she continued, gesturing briefly, "I know you, even if you don't know me."

He exhaled and replied, rubbing the back of his neck, "Right… uh… well, I was a _bit_ busy at the time being killed… Sheesh, you'd think, being nine hundred and three, that death would get easier after a while, but it doesn't… no, it's tiresome and disorientating. Anyway…"

He looked around at the team and continued with a clap of his hands, "It won't work without me… well, there have been some exceptions over the years but I'm not going to go into that just yet…"

Sam said, realising that he didn't know that she had piloted the ship before, and deciding not to tell him, "You've got a symbiosis with it."

The Doctor nodded, replying with a grin, "Yep."

He continued, his voice lowering as his smile faded, "But I don't know how to find it."

"Well, it's too risky to go outside to hook a searching program to the DHD."

He smiled and said, surprised once again, "You are a genius! Not as clever as I am, of course but… that is amazing. Really."

Sam, confused at first, said, "But you're the one who showed me how to do it… Oh."

The Doctor replied, "Oh, Colonel… remember those things you said about all that timey-wimey… stuff… interconnecting and looping…"

Sam, smiling slightly, said, "Doctor, wait here. I've just got to talk with my team and I'll be right back."

He nodded, and Sam joined the rest of SG-1 in a loose huddle a few metres away, Cam asking quietly as he glanced at the Time Lord who was now looking up at the inscriptions and decorations on the wall, "So, what do we do?"

Daniel replied with a sigh, glancing at Sam, "I suppose we'll have to bring him back to the SGC with us. Teal'c?"

Teal'c said, "I too believe this to be the right course of action as DoctorLam can perform the necessary tests to ascertain whether he truly is the Doctor."

Vala remarked with a little smile, glancing appreciatively past her husband to check the Doctor out, who was now standing on a box to look at something else on the wall, "Well, he certainly _looks_ like the Time Lord from Gallifrey…"

Cam raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing as Jonas smirked, and Sam nodded in reply to Teal'c, saying, "Right, we'll go with that. No-one's going to take the TARDIS, wherever that is. Let's roll."

--------------------

The Doctor walked down the ramp of the SGC, looking around himself in wonder as SG-1 walked down, Sam quickly briefing Reynolds. The Time Lord paused at the base of the ramp and remarked aloud,

"Wow… this really is… amazing. An entire military complex within Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado… Brilliant."

He turned around and looked up at the 'gate, saying with a beaming grin as he walked towards it, reaching up a hand to touch the Naquadah surface as the wormhole disengaged, "What a beauty! A Milky Way Stargate! I haven't seen one of these in a while. This has arguably got to be the best achievement of the human race since… well, since fire. This is… wow."

He turned to the bemused others and continued, "I'm nine hundred and three and I've seen most of the known and the unknown Universe, but this… I've seriously got shivers running up and down my spine."

He patted the Stargate affectionately before walking down the ramp to SG-1 and Reynolds, Sam saying with a barely disguised grin as she was reminded yet again of the Time Lord's eccentricity, much to Daniel's chagrin, "Come on Doc, we've got to get you checked out by Carolyn and then Cam here is going to question you."

--------------------

As Cam interrogated the Doctor, who had turned out to be who he appeared to be, Daniel slipped into his quarters, feeling utterly desolate on feeling a great void where Sam had been mentally. It felt worse than it did the last time he couldn't feel her, partly because of his constant inner self-torture at being what he thought, cursed, for losing another woman he loved to someone 'better' and more powerful.

What was wrong with him? Was he destined to lose everyone he loved? Who had he teed off in another life?

He sighed, rolling his head back as he closed his eyes, sitting on his bed, and hoping… hoping for what? There wasn't anything to hope for now. He'd lost his wife to a Time Lord… another someone else posing as a god?

How was he going to break this curse? He had been helpless the last time, but this time, he had come such a long way since then. He wasn't going to let this slip by. Not now. Not Samantha Carter-Jackson.

Wiping away the tears that suddenly began to fall, the corridor lighting outside flickering due to his raging emotions, he, without thinking, stormed out of the room, angrily striding to a vaguely thought out destination.

He found him… the dirty, rotten… bastard, for lack of a better, more descriptive term, talking amicably with Sam in the briefing room, alone, Mitchell having gone into his office. Storming over to the Doctor's position, Daniel grabbed him by the back of the collar of his new combat fatigues, lifting him to a standing position before punching him repeatedly and angrily.

Sam's eyes widened in shock on seeing just what Daniel was doing, and, as an audience gathered around, Mitchell pausing and gaping from the doorway of his office, Sam quickly got up and shouted as she pulled Daniel off the Time Lord,

"Jackson, stand down!"

Cam, snapping into action, grabbed Daniel by the arms, holding him securely despite the Archaeologist's violent struggles, and Sam helped the Time Lord back into his seat, asking as she handed him a tissue for his bleeding nose and checked out his ripening bruises and cuts,

"Doctor, are you ok?"

The Doctor replied with a little smile, gingerly touching his face, "I've had worse… which is saying a lot."

Daniel said, angry as Sam cleaned the Doctor's cuts, "Stay the hell away from my wife, you bastard. Stay away from her. You tried to steal her last time. I won't let you, dammit!"

Sam placed a hand on the Doctor's arm to stop him from replying, and she said, standing the Time Lord up so she could take him to the Infirmary, "Right, Jackson. I'm going to escort our guest to the Infirmary, and when I come back, I'm going to have a little talk with you."

She looked at Cam and said coldly, "Mitchell, please escort Doctor Jackson into my office."

Cam nodded, ready to smirk at a Daniel being in the doghouse once Sam had left, and Sam left with the Doctor, who remarked, touching his jaw, "You know… that husband of yours has a terrific right hook."

Sam smiled humourlessly for a moment, saying as they walked down one corridor of many, on their way to the Infirmary, "General O'Neill taught him how to deal effective punches. Daniel always swore he wouldn't use it anywhere… but I guess he was wrong."

She sighed, and the Doctor said, looking at her in concern, "Colonel… I'm sorry."

Sam shook her head, replying as she touched his forearm briefly, "It's not your fault. He's just insecure and jealous."

"Well… with all that genius stored in his head, there would have to be compromises somewhere…"

Sam shot him a glare that would have scared an entire army of Jaffa, and replied curtly, "We're not far from the Infirmary now."

--------------------

Leaving the Doctor in his newly assigned VIP quarters, Sam closed her eyes and exhaled as she stood outside his door, calming herself for the confrontation to come. She didn't quite know why Daniel was _that_ angry and uncontrollable. She had never seen him that angry… well, maybe the time when he shot a tank of helpless symbiotes on Chulak after considering that they would go on to oppress many more lives… but that had been psychopathic. This had been… overwhelming anger, and scary.

Maybe he was taking the lack of a link between them a little too hard. She was surprisingly feeling normal, which was unusual as she had had withdrawal symptoms in the form of depression the last time the connection had dropped. This time, it was as though the void had been filled somehow, although not quite.

Unconsciously pinching the bridge of her nose for a moment, she made her way back to the briefing room, to her office, wondering what on Earth she was going to do.

She found him sat in the visitor chair, staring straight ahead of him and she sighed softly, closing the door behind her and then going to her chair. She watched him for a long moment, across her desk, and she said with surprising calmness,

"Jackson, from the top. What's going on?"

Daniel's belligerent expression melted into one of angst, and he said, looking at her, tears in his voice, "Sam… I can't do this any more. You always said that I was too polite when it came to defending you when we're not on duty. I didn't because it's an insult to you, but… I can't stand back any more. I'm not taking it. I won't lose you."

He continued in a whisper, his gaze moving down to the desktop, "I can't lose you again. It'd kill me."

Sam said, inwardly touched, "Right, but that doesn't excuse you attacking a guest of this facility, and by extension, Earth."

His head shot up to look at her, and she continued quickly as he looked confused, "Luckily the Doctor doesn't want to press charges, and you are too damn good at what you do, so consider this an unofficial warning, Jackson."

She then got up and said, reaching for his hand, "Come on Daniel, we need to talk…"

She brought him to his feet as he gazed at her sadly, and she said, gently caressing his cheek, "… _really_ need to talk."

She then held both of his hands and they disappeared in a slow burst of bluish-white light, surprising their audience behind the window, who had been looking forward to a large, gossip-worthy blow-up.

--------------------

Daniel sat on the edge of his bed once again with Sam a foot away from him, and she said, looking at him shyly as he looked down at his hands, "Daniel… you know when I said that it was either going to be you or no-one else? I meant it. No-one will ever take your place in my heart or my life, or our babies' lives… in everyone's lives."

He closed his eyes and shook his head, saying, "I wish I could believe that Sam, but you said it yourself, you had a relationship with _him_ in the alternate timeline. That other Sam would still have been you, which means that you have feelings for the Doctor. And you know what?"

He continued angrily, standing up and walking away from her, "I'm sick and tired of always being the guy that loses out. I can't do this any more. For once, I… God, I thought that we'd be alright, but how many times have I almost lost you already? And now, I'm going to lose you again, and to an alien 'god' of all the…"

Horrified as she remembered what he had gone through with Sha're, she said, standing up and touching his shoulder, "Daniel, I'm… no, Sha're was seized from you. I'm still here. The Doctor is amazing, I'll admit, but there is only one person that is the superlative of amazing and he's currently acting like Jake when he doesn't get what he wants."

He spat back, out of spite, "I want my wife back… but I'm not going to get her back."

He turned around and continued bitterly, "Your mother cheated on your Dad and ruined my parents' lives, so why wouldn't you follow suit?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted them and made to apologise when she punched him. As he clutched his jaw, she said, upset and shaking her head,

"I never thought that you, in a million years, would throw that up in my face. I'm ashamed… I'm shocked. How could you?! You… you didn't know my Mom."

He shook his head, closing his eyes as he said sincerely, "I'm sorry Sam, I'm so sorry."

She exhaled, tears running down her cheeks as she replied, pushing his hands away when he made to touch her, "You're sleeping on the couch tonight, Daniel. I don't want anything to do with you. You… you insulted my Mom, and you slandered me. If I'm not good enough for you… just go. I don't want to see you again, but I have to think of the babies as well."

"Sam… no, I…"

"I don't want to hear it, ok? I don't want to hear it. It's inexcusable. I would never have insulted your parents. Their secret hurt me too."

He said, his anger building up again, "Dammit Sam, I love you… and I can't feel you. I'm feeling empty again, and seeing you with another man isn't helping matters."

"So, if you see me with Cam, you automatically think I'm sleeping with him?!"

"No, Sam…"

"I hated the comments before about me supposedly sleeping with General O'Neill to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, but I never thought for one moment that you'd be exactly like that. Do you want to hypothesise about how many people I _must_ have slept with to get promoted to full Colonel? Huh? Of course, if a man gets promoted, it's because of his abilities, but if it's a woman, she must have slept with all of the F-302 pilots to get this far. Wait, no, the entire base. Really, Daniel… I am so disappointed in you."

She cut him off as he made to say something else, and said, "You want to know why we can't feel each other? It's because when I gave you my life energy on Erebus, the Doctor compensated for it, putting me in a five hour regeneration cycle. His consciousness was constantly searching for my biopattern and when it fell below a certain threshold, it filled in the gaps. Why do you think I sound like him? The guy's like a hyperactive kid. Carolyn said that I have Time Lord DNA, but it's slowly being absorbed into my system as I compensate for it myself. In a few hours, I'm going to go into withdrawal with our current lack of psychic or empathic link."

He was about to speak when she was ready to cut him off again, but he got there first, saying as he squeezed her hands, "I love you Sam. I love you so much. I'm a jealous guy and you know it. It doesn't justify my behaviour… I…"

She shook her head, releasing her hands as she said, leaving the room, "Stay away from me, Daniel. Stay the hell away from me."


	10. Talking It Over

Later that night, after taking care of things on base, Sam and Daniel returned home from the base, having picked their children up from the on-base Nursery. Settling them down, all the while without a word to each other, Daniel went downstairs while Sam stayed upstairs to have a long, unwinding bath.

She sighed as she sank into the hot, soapy water, feeling her aches melting away, her cares unfortunately not dissipating into the water. Finally alone, she began to cry quietly, vainly sniffing back her tears as she thought of how violent their row had been earlier.

Quickly wiping away her tears, she reached for the phone that she had left on the windowsill, and dialled a number. She hesitated a moment before dialling the final digit, and she held it to her ear and listened to it ring.

"Hey."

She smiled. "Hey Cam."

"Sam?! Well, this is a surprise, Colonel…"

"Mitchell, lose the title – we're not on duty."

"Well, you know how I'm always confused by what to call you these days. Anyway, I was just on my way over to yours. I'm worried."

She asked, a touch confused, "Why? What's up?"

"_We-hell_… only the fact that my newly reinstated CO and my former CO are having a big bust-up. I bet you thought I hadn't noticed. Hell, the entire base noticed. Vala's worried too. What's going on?"

She groaned and was about to reply when he remarked, sounding bemused, "Are you in the bath again? I'm not sure whether I should be proud or feeling let down that you ring me from the bathroom when you want an Air Force mind-meld. Well, at least this time, you're not chasing your naturist kids all over the first floor. I think that's contagious… our boy does it."

She retorted, laughing for the first time that day, "No, that's you. You always find someway to lose your pants. My quintet get their naturist streak from their Daddy."

"Oh-ho... I remember Christmas… Anyway, what's up?"

She sighed and replied, running her fingers through her wet hair, "It's just getting too much again. Daniel insulted my Mom."

After a long pause, he said in disbelief, "What?! Was he drunk? Wait, no, he's not insulting when he's drunk… what happened?"

She closed her eyes, shaking her head, and said softly, a stray tear running down her cheek, "He's jealous about the Doctor. It was a heat of the moment thing about my Mom supposedly ruining his family, and that she's set a precedent for me. I… I know he didn't mean it, but it's as though he's the only one hurt by our parents' secret. If anything, I should be angry about his Dad taking my Mom away, but I know it's a complex issue. I don't particularly understand their motives, but they were in love… I wish I could learn more about them."

"Oh yeah… you told me about the little Scrooge time travel thing… Well, it would be an interesting thing to find out about. My Mom's got millions of skeletons in her closet, but I think they're in there for a reason… because we just don't want to know what she got up to in the sixties. Look, take care of yourself, ok? You've been hurt already by what you've found out so far… it could have been the tip of the iceberg."

He continued after a pause, "Jackson's gonna be in grovel mode for a long time."

"Is that from experience?"

"A little… but he carries a tonne of guilt too. I wouldn't be surprised if he kept the romantic niceties up for a year and put the rest of us _mountain husbands_ in the shade."

"It's not a concerted effort with him, although he does have to be in a good mood. He puts thought into it."

"Thus confirming that he is not a normal man. Do you want me to come over?"

She sighed. "It's better if you don't. You know how stubborn my husband is. We all do. I could wait for him to come to me but… I'd be retiring by the time that happens."

"Alright, I'll drop in tomorrow to see ya though. Just call me in the morning if it's too violent to bring Francis and I'll drive over to pick up the Jackson Five."

"Oh… Cam…"

"No, it can't be healthy for them; all that tension going round."

"Thanks Cam."

"No problem."

"How is Francis anyway? Has his 'flu gone?"

"Mostly. His appetite's back and he's been eating with his ol' Pa again and babbling stories about the farm and the war… and Barney. I swear, if I ever come across that damned purple dinosaur, I'm gonna slug him."

--------------------

After changing into her pyjamas, Sam quietly went downstairs to find Daniel standing in the kitchen, holding the edge of the sink as he faced the window, his eyes unseeing as he was lost in thought. She sighed softly to give him a little advanced warning and his shoulders relaxed a little.

He turned around and said, looking lost, "Sam, I'm so sorry. I really am. That was inexcusable. I… I don't even know why I said it."

He closed his eyes and turned back to face the window again, his shoulders shuddering with quiet sobs as he continued, bitterly, "I don't want to lose you, and I've managed to push you away by acting a fool. I just things were back to how they were before, that I could feel you again… we were so happy then… but now, I've lost it. I can't even say a sentence without upsetting you."

She pressed her lips together for a moment and then replied, not moving from the doorway behind him, her arms folded across her chest, "You don't realise how much you've hurt me, Daniel. You just thought that you had the right to accuse my mother of ruining your family, because you lost yours. Grow up. The world doesn't work like that. If anyone was guilty in that whole thing, it was both of them. They both committed adultery and we have to face that fact, regardless of whether that tainted your mental image of your parents."

She turned, walking away into the lounge, and he eventually followed. She said, shaking her head as she looked down at floor from her seated position, "You know, Daniel. I told that other Sam that you were worth the tears, because you so are… but then you find someway once in a long while to ruin my perceptions of you."

She met his gaze and continued as he stood in the doorway from the kitchen, "I'm scared. If I forgive you, what are you going to do next? If I allow myself to be lost in a warm embrace, or when we make love, am I going to later regret it when you do something else of catastrophic proportions? I still love you. I don't want to, not after what you said, but, damn fool that I am, I love you."

She sighed. "I can't forgive you… and I don't want to forgive you. It's going to take me a while to work through this, and for you to sort yourself out. I just hope our working relationship isn't damaged beyond repair. We both know that our work and collaboration is vital to the team."

He nodded, still looking lost, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Can I at least hug you? If this means that we never touch again, I just want to feel your heartbeat next to mine."

"Daniel…"

"Sam, I'm hurting too. I treated you like scum, I insulted Mom. No-one deserved that, especially you. I'd… I'd do anything for you. I'd lie for you, I'd die for you, I'd walk the wire for you. I need you, Sam, like air."

She shook her head, tears in her eyes as she remarked sadly, "You should have thought of that before you did what you did."

She reluctantly stood up and he gently pulled her into his arms. She eventually melted into his embrace, unable to resist the urge, and she clung onto him as he slowly ran his fingers through her damp hair. She sniffed as she rested her head on his shoulder and she whispered,

"It's always one thing after another for us, isn't it? I wish you hadn't said the things you said. They hurt so much."

He cried in the embrace, whispering back, "I've been a fool, Sam. An even bigger fool than before. I was hoping that you'd be the last, the one that I wouldn't lose, but I really screwed up with you."

She groaned, remarking, "I was all set to angrily storm out… I'm still angry, don't forget, but I think we can work this out."

He kissed her hair and replied, inwardly insulting himself, "I think so too. I just wish I hadn't said that about Mom. You deserve way better than that… you always have."

She backed away enough to get a good look at his face as she said, searching it, "You do realise that it's going to be a while before I can forgive you, don't you?"

He nodded. "I'll do whatever it takes, I swear, to win your forgiveness."

He caressed her cheek as he gazed at her lovingly, "I'm sorry, Samantha. If it takes the rest of my life, then so be it. I deserve it."

She gazed at him for a long moment, her eyes staying on his for a long while before moving to other parts of his face once again. She stretched up, almost standing on tip-toe, and kissed him. He was about to pull back when she looped an arm around his neck, pushing herself against him as he groaned softly.

He panted heavily. "Sam?"

Breathing heavily too. "It's been a long time… too long. I'm just glad we're not at the vase throwing stage."

"Me too."

Relaxing into it finally, his mouth moved to her ear, down her neck, and then to her shoulder underneath the pyjama top. She pressed herself against him tighter and then he pushed her up against a wall, her legs wrapping around his waist in an attempt to get him even closer, their lips moving across flesh, sensitive spots and each others.

She remarked breathlessly as items of clothing began to be removed, "I love angry sex. It's one of my favourites."

He smiled slightly, retorting as he touched her jaw tenderly, "Mine too. It's nice when we're both angry."

She hummed in agreement and then his lips moved downwards as her head rolled back against the wall in sheer bliss, eliciting a groan that seemed to go on forever.

"You know, Daniel, it's mostly angry after we don't do it for a long while."

"Hmmm."

She smiled. "Or one of us has PMT."

She ran her hands down his chest and abdomen as he paused his caresses to gaze at her, and her fingers reached the belt of his jeans. He looked down at what she was doing as she almost ripped the buckle from the belt, unfastening the button and then the zip as he looked completely bemused by how she always managed to undress him faster than he could undress himself.

Using the wall for balance, she eventually got to her feet, removing the remainder of his clothing, before hugging him. He hugged her back, knowing that they both needed the skin-to-skin contact to remind them of what it felt like to be human.

After a moment, she began to giggle as he blushed and she led him by the hand to the couch, where they proceeded to make love, slowly for the first time, and then progressively faster, noisier and tension-relieving as the night went on.

Finally, sated and overwhelmed with satisfaction as they lay together on the couch in each other's arms, she whispered, kissing his bare chest, "I missed you, Daniel. It's fun playing catch up though."

"I missed you too. What happened to us?"

"Well… your jealousy for one."

She turned over to lay on her front over him, her hair falling around her face as it usually did in that position, and he reached up to finger a strand as she said, gazing at him, her love for him in her eyes, a little shrouded by fear, "Daniel… I'm not in love with the Doctor. It's always been you and it always will be, despite you driving me up the wall when you feel the inclination."

He raised his body up to kiss her, replying, "I'm just sorry for everything. I'm sorry for being so insecure, for saying those things about your Mom."

She returned his kiss and said softly, "Apology accepted."

She exhaled and said, resting her head on his chest as he held her hand, "Well, seeing as you're on the couch tonight, I might as well join you."

He smiled slightly, kissing her forehead, and she smoothed his chest, asking, "Why can't we stay angry at each other?"

"I don't know. I guess we're not normal."

"Oh, we're weird all right."


	11. Withdrawal

"There has to have been something to make you the Star of Ma'at… I mean, ok, you were born that way, but there has to be a reason why you are… that way."

Reynolds remarked to Sam as he leaned against a nearby wall in the interrogation room, "Is he always like this?"

Sam replied, smiling slightly at the Doctor as the rest of SG-1 sat behind the window, "Pretty much."

She said to the Doctor, who sat opposite her, "I don't know… but it might be to do with the prophecy about the Guardian and the Listener."

The Doctor looked at her and exhaled, before asking in surprise, "_You_ know about the prophecy? The age-old Ancient prophecy about the two greatest warriors of the Universe? Wait, did I tell you it when you saw me last?"

Sam shook her head and replied with that same smile, "Nope…. Well, you did, but we already knew about it before then."

He mirrored her smile. "Oh, so _you're_ the Listener? You look a lot like the picture by Ganos Lal."

He grinned. "Mother of the Duality. I knew there was more to you than met the eye… well, more than what I already sensed."

"Tell me about it… I can sense your two hearts."

He asked, surprised as he placed a hand on his chest, "Really?"

"Yep. If I close my eyes, I can see them beating… I don't like doing that though."

"Oh yeah, understandable."

She said as she gazed at him closely, her eyes narrowing slightly, "And I can feel your years. Even from here, I can sense the infinite knowledge in your head, the things that came before, the things happening now, the things to come. You shared it with me before, but my abilities are a lot stronger now and I don't even have to touch your head."

He said gravely, "You're not supposed to be able to do that. You're human. The human body's not built to do that."

"I've evolved."

"Ah…"

"Ancient gene."

"Ah right, that makes more sense. I take it that Doctor Jackson's the Guardian then?"

She nodded, and he said, looking down at his hands, "Well, I would love to stay here for a long time, seriously, but I feel edgy without my ship. I'd just like to know that it's safe."

"I know. If anyone manages to get it open, they can harness the energy at the heart of the TARDIS, the most powerful source of energy in the Universe."

He remarked in surprise, "Are you sure we haven't dated at the very least?"

"We shared a lot, Doctor."

She got up and said, "Come on, let's go to the briefing room to organise a return mission to Erebus to get the TARDIS back."

"That searching program of yours seems like a good idea."

She bit back a smile, realising that the searching program must have worked in the present for the Doctor to have been so confident about it in her past, and she said, "Ordinarily, I'd say it was your idea, but seeing as you got it from me now…"

She smiled and was about to leave when she began to feel light-headed, her head swimming as she felt a part of her fading away. The Doctor and Reynolds caught her as she collapsed, unconscious, on the floor, the rest of SG-1 sprinting in as an Airman went to call Carolyn.

Cam asked as the Doctor moved aside to let Daniel kneel at Sam's side, "What the hell happened?"

The Doctor replied, "I have no idea. She just went down… although I'd like to know why I'm suddenly feeling stronger."

Daniel, tears in his eyes, held his wife's hand to his lips as he replied quietly, "She's given your energy back. She told me this would happen but I didn't think that it would be this dramatic. I thought it would just be a little like after my encounter with a sarcophagus."

--------------------

The rest of SG-1 stood in the observation room with the Doctor, watching Daniel in the Infirmary below, smoothing his wife's hair and talking softly to her unconscious form. The Doctor said, confused,

"Run that by me one more time. She gave Doctor Jackson her life energy, force… whatever you want to call it, and because I needed her to open the tomb, I gave her some of my life… force, and now she's given it back?"

Teal'c replied, looking through the glass in concern, "There is no reason for the idea to swiftly proceed past yourself if you have already grasped it. That is what DanielJackson said."

Jonas asked as he watched their unconscious CO in grave worry, "Do you think she'll be ok?"

Vala replied, looking worriedly at Cam, "She has to be, right? I mean, she'll find someway to get out of this and…"

The Doctor said, his hands in his pockets, "Oh, don't worry. This is Samantha Jackson, she's been through a lot worse… and besides, Carolyn Lam… uh, Quinn – see, I never get used to that… Sorry."

He looked at Jonas who shrugged and said with a smile, "It's ok. I don't own her. She's my wife."

"As I was saying… Carolyn Quinn said that she was going to be fine. I suppose we'll just have to wait for the good Colonel to, how you lovely people say, snap out of it."

--------------------

Meanwhile, Daniel firmly grasped his wife's hand with one hand, smoothing her hair back from her pale and drawn face with his other, and he whispered to her. Tears in his eyes, he said as the Nurses kept at a safe distance to give him some privacy,

"I wish it was me in your place. I really do. After everything we've been through, you shouldn't have to go through this, not like this. God, Sam… please don't let me lose you again. It's killing me already and that's just the prospect. If you die… I really don't know what I'd do. As corny as this is going to sound, you're my only reason to keep living, because without you, I'm nothing."

His voice broke as the swirling, tumbling emotions with him finally spilled over, tears running down his cheeks, "Please, Sam."

He laid his head on the pillow next to hers, watching her comatose form as he touched her lips, hoping for the best. He gently kissed her neck, whispering,

"Don't give up, honey. You're a very strong person. Don't give up now. We all need you… I need you."

Remembering the caresses she so selflessly gave to him, he gently smoothed her stomach through the fabric of her scrubs as he continued, getting a little drowsy, "I want to hold you in my arms right now but I'd get kicked out of the Infirmary…or several dirty looks at the very least."

He tenderly kissed her again and was about to sleep, when he heard Jonas' voice. "Can't you heal her? You've got healing powers."

Daniel replied as he straightened up, still holding Sam's hand, to see that the Doctor and the rest of SG-1 were standing around Sam's bed, "I don't have my focus any more. I lost it on Erebus but… there's no harm in trying, I suppose."

Cam remarked, "Well, you managed to heal an Infirmary full of a badly injured SG team once, plus an old General's knees and another old General's heart condition, just without doing anything. You were out for the count."

Without a word, Daniel stood and raised his hands over his wife's body, frowning in deep concentration as he closed his eyes. A long moment later, he opened them, looking even more tired as he said,

"I can't do this. It won't work."

Teal'c said, "It would be most wise to attempt the feat more than once."

Daniel nodded. "Ok, sure…"

With a sigh, he raised his hands above her body once again and was all set to stop when suddenly, white light began to flow out of the palms of his hands and into Sam's body. He slowly moved his hands over her body, eventually to her head as he held onto his focus, hoping at the back of his mind that it would work.

He slid, almost bonelessly back into his seat as his friends rushed forward in concern. As a worried Carolyn approached, Daniel said weakly,

"I'm fine. I'm fine."

Carolyn checked him over nonetheless, and Vala asked, "What did you do?"

He replied, panting a little, "I gave her my life energy. I'm going to have to build our link up though when she wakes up."

Daniel went to his wife's bedside and gently squeezed her hand as he said, "She's still out."

Carolyn said, still out of her depth, "Give it a little time, Daniel. I don't know how these things work but she might need time to metasise the extra energy after the sharp drop."

The Doctor asked, "Is the Colonel going to be alright?"

Carolyn replied, looking at patient worriedly, "I hope so. It looks like it."

A groan drew their attentions back to the bed, and everyone smiled on seeing Sam wake up, Daniel straightening up in happy surprise, still holding her hand as he greeted her. The Colonel looked up at him with a little smile, mouthing the words,

"Thank you."

She closed her eyes and cleared her throat, before saying out loud as she looked up at him again, her voice hoarse, "You know how I don't like mincing words… you look like crap."

Cam remarked from the other side of her bed, "Well, the boy did good… he got you back."

Daniel smiled slightly as he sat on the edge of her bed, holding her hand, and the Doctor looked around at the rest of the team, inclining his head towards the doorway in a silent hint to give the Jacksons some alone time. When no-one moved, he remarked aloud,

"Come on, humans… door's that way. Allons-y!"

The rest of the team exchanged looks before each going to quickly greet Sam and then leave, every one of them smirking mischievously, followed by the Doctor, feigning nonchalance.

When they were alone, after Carolyn had checked the monitors, Daniel said softly as he caressed her cheek, "I nearly lost you again."

He gently kissed her, and she retorted with a grin, "I'll try not to make it a habit."

"Good, because it can't be healthy. How are you feeling?"

She said with her sigh, her smile gone, "I don't know why, but I feel like I need a fix."

Very concerned as he remembered his own experience of being addicted to a form of alien energy, he asked, "A fix?"

"That Ancient energy is addictive. That's why the Doctor compensated for me giving you my life energy, because he knew, at some point at least, that I'd go into withdrawal like this, and he needed me to open that damn thing."

She closed her eyes and began to cry, saying as he smoothed her hair, "Daniel, I can't do this any more. It feels like I've hit rock bottom. God, I never thought I'd be hooked on something, especially like this. I'm worthless."

He hugged her tight, feeling a muted version of her emotions due to his abilities, and he said, kissing her hair, "You are definitely not worthless, ok? You mean the world to me, the Universe in fact… and you have five little monsters in your fan club, along with the team."

She chuckled in his embrace, remarking as she gazed at the back of his head, "Little monsters… that isn't too fair on them, but I like it."

He kissed her temple and whispered with a smile, "Get some sleep, Sam… I'm staying."

"Oh… why can't I sleep on your shoulder?"

"I hate needles."

She smiled and he gently laid her down as she looked up at him, and she asked, "When did you last eat anything?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Daniel…"

"I'm not hungry."

She sighed, knowing just how stubborn he was, and she said with a tiny smile, "Eat something though, won't you? I don't want to lose you either."

He nodded and smoothed her cheek. She held his hand as she curled up in the bed, resting her face on his hand as her eyes began to drift shut, and she murmured drowsily, "I've still got something to do…"


	12. Burst

Daniel waited by her side, holding her hand as he watched his wife sleep, thinking about how much she meant to him, how much he loved her. He made a silent promise to himself, and to her, that he would never hurt her again, especially in the ways that he had done so before now. He caressed her hair and her face, whispering declarations of his love to her.

Suddenly, her body began to glow a bright white, illuminating and then engulfing their surroundings. He called out, panicked, and blinded by the light as he turned to where he thought Carolyn would be,

"Carolyn!"

He received no answer, and then all began to fade into black as he felt himself falling, ever falling into eternity. As he did so, after he had got over the initial shock, he remarked to himself that he would never read Alice in Wonderland to Cammie ever again.

--------------------

Daniel opened his eyes and saw, much to his shock, surprise and confusion, a dark and initially foreboding night sky. He frowned and then began to cough. He tried to sit up and then hands grabbed his shoulders, steadying him. He looked around himself, startled at the contact as well as his surroundings, and found the rest of SG-1 kneeling around him. Cam and Teal'c holding his arms as he resumed coughing, the Archaeologist asked eventually,his voice hoarse,

"What's going on? What happened? Where are we?"

Cam asked, "Jackson, what's the last thing you remember?"

"Uh… I was with Sam in the Infirmary. She went to sleep and then... she was glowing. What's going on?"

Cam nodded at Vala, who said, "It appears that somehow we've been transported here from the SGC."

Daniel looked around himself once again and then finally noticed that they were all on a beach. He looked around at his friends again and asked,

"How do I even know that any of you are real?"

Jonas remarked, "Well, how are any of us real?"

Daniel muttered as Teal'c helped him to stand, "Good answer."

He asked when he had got to his feet, "Where are we?"

Teal'c replied as he kept his hands on the Archaeologist as a precautionary measure, "It would appear that we are inexplicably off-world."

As Cam and Vala scouted their immediate vicinity, Daniel asked, "Is it just us?"

Just then, they heard the Doctor call from a few metres away, "Hello!"

They all turned, and Cam called back, "Doc, is that you?"

The Time Lord approached them and said with a laugh, "Oh, thank goodness. Seriously, I've never been so happy to see you as I am right now… Wow. Ok…"

Teal'c asked as the Time Lord finally reached them, "Do you have any knowledge pertaining to our present location, Doctor?"

The Doctor shrugged as he looked around himself. He then poked his tongue out as they all looked at him in bemusement, and he said after a moment, raising a finger, "Ah… this tastes like Earth, but not your Earth… Oh, I taste the sixties. Each decade has its own taste and this is definitely the sixties."

He picked up a handful of damp sand and said, letting it drop slowly to the ground, "Yup, Earth… New England, if I'm not mistaken. So… New England, United States, Earth… round about mid 1960's."

Cam remarked with a smirk to Vala, "Looks like the Ancients were hippies after all."

Vala replied, amused, "Well, they're too stiff to have been hippies. Oh, what I wouldn't give for free love."

Jonas, embarrassed, looked down at his feet, and Daniel cleared is throat in embarrassment as the Doctor turned away, and the Archaeologist asked, now worried as he looked around them, "If you're all here, where's Sam?"

The Doctor replied as each member of the team shook their heads, "Haven't seen her… maybe she's here somewhere."

For the umpteenth moment in that half hour, they were shocked once again as a glowing mass of light shot down from the heavens, and took on a human form as it appeared before them. They all gaped in shock on seeing a glowing Sam, dressed in white, and Daniel asked, stepping forward slowly,

"Sam… what's going on?"

Sam took him by the hand with a small smile and said, "It's great being part-Ancient, the subject of a prophecy, and a dash of an age old legend. So much knowledge and opportunities for discovery… Follow me."

The group walked across the damp sand towards a pile of boulders, and Cam asked, uncertain, "You haven't ascended again, have you, Sam?"

Sam replied as Daniel gazed at her in a mixture of wonder and worry, "Remember the Christmas Carol time travelling I told you about? This is it. It just took a lot more power because I had to be specific… and I may have accidentally brought you all along for the ride. Sorry."

Cam remarked, glancing at his wife and then at Jonas and Teal'c, "Hey, no apologies… we're all for rides. The more intrepid and the weirder, the better. All in a day's work. Lead on, MacColonel."

They stopped at the base of the pile of boulders, a yellowish glowing in the cave above, and the Doctor asked, "We're not going to have to climb up that, are we? I mean, I know I'm small, but this is bordering on the insane."

Sam replied as she turned around, "Nope, no climbing involved."

She closed her eyes and her glowing intensified, spreading out until it was touching them, and then it engulfed them as most of them shielded their faces with their arms in fear.

They all opened their eyes a moment later and found themselves in a cave, a lit flashlight in the corner, and a very familiar looking man and woman sat on the floor, the latter very heavily pregnant. Cam raised his eyebrows briefly and then asked, glancing at Sam uneasily,

"They can't see us, right?"

Sam shook her head and replied, "Christmas Carol. This is just a replay of the past."

The Doctor said, glancing from the woman on the ground to Sam and back again, "That woman looks a lot like you."

Vala said, amusement shrouding her fear, "That would be because that is Samantha's mother, and that dashing man with the longish hair is Daniel's father."

The Doctor made a face but said nothing, and Sam kneeled by her mother's side as she listened to the words Grace and Melburn exchanged. Daniel kneeled by her side and gaped at how real his father appeared, much more vivid than the last time he saw him during a spell of time travel. He held his wife's hand in support as they listened to the words of love, their friends standing quietly behind them, and, admittedly, a little weirded out by the implications of it all.

When Melburn and Grace began to make love, everyone shied away out of embarrassment and awkwardness, and Sam froze the scene, rewinding it a little so that they wouldn't all be traumatised for life. The Doctor remarked in disbelief,

"Let me get this straight…"

He pointed at Sam and then Daniel. "Your mother, and _your_ father had a relationship? How did you even get married? There's only one planet I know of that allows for that sort of thing…"

Daniel looked down to curb his resurfacing desire to punch the Time Lord's lights out, and Sam said, giving her husband's hand a little squeeze to let him know that she didn't want him to start getting violent, "We're not brother and sister. We're only related because our parents had a relationship. We've been through this already."

The Doctor nodded, looking a little uncomfortable, and Cam smirked at the Time Lord before Sam waved her hand, and the scene resumed just as they were putting their clothes back on. Daniel looked at Sam in surprise, as did the others, and Sam remarked, a little embarrassed,

"Ancient timing."

She and Daniel kneeled at her mother's side again, touched by the tears and hugs, and the parting words. Then everyone gaped in surprise as Melburn pulled a glowing red stone out of his pocket, giving it to Grace. Daniel said softly as he listened to his father explain where he had found the stone,

"He never wrote about that in his journal."

The Doctor remarked, beaming, "Oh, that's it!"

They all turned to look up at him, and he said, "That's the Star of Ma'at. He found it in Egypt."

They looked back at the Carter and Jackson of the past, to see the stone swiftly enter Sam's mother's abdomen, everyone aghast at the sight and the potential implications. Daniel hugged his now upset wife and said gently as she closed her eyes,

"Ssh, it's ok… you're fine. Nothing happened to you."

They watched, his arm still around her, as an image of a baby in a placenta appeared on the cave wall opposite their parents, followed up by a video of their wedding day. The Doctor said, fascinated by the images,

"Wow… it's telling them the future… your future... well, your past now. That's impossible."

Sam looked around at her friends as her mother, and her father-in-law said their farewells to each other, and she said, visibly upset as Daniel held her hand, "Come on, let's go."

--------------------

Back in the present, after Carolyn had notified Reynolds that not only her patient, but the full compliment of Earth's foremost planetary defence team along with the Doctor had vanished from the Infirmary in a burst of white light, the head of SG-3 and acting head of the base, ordered a search of the entire facility by all available SG-teams, along with a scientific team to check 'gate logs and to maintain contact with the Odyssey.

Carolyn paced the Infirmary floor impatiently, worried for Sam's welfare, worried for her husband's, and worried for everyone else's. She sighed and was on her way to her office for the umpteenth time that night when a huge conflagration of white light engulfed the vicinity behind her. She turned around, her back on her office door as she grasped at the handle, fearful, as SG-1 and the Doctor returned, the light fading around them in bluish-white hue.

She got a Nurse to phone Reynolds to get him to call off the search, and she stepped forward, intending to be professional, but instead, threw herself into her husband's arms as she asked, looking around at everyone in relief, happiness and confusion,

"What happened?"

She grabbed Sam quickly as the Colonel collapsed, a stream of white light escaping her mouth, and she and Teal'c got her into a bed, the medic attaching monitors. Daniel asked, worried,

"What happened?"

Before Carolyn could reply, Sam murmured tiredly, her eyes still closed, "Doctor… go to the gateroom in about three seconds."

Suddenly the unscheduled gate activation siren sounded, and Sam continued, smiling slightly, "The TARDIS is back."

As everyone, including the Doctor looked shocked, Reynolds running in, Sam whispered, too tired to open her eyes but smiling nonetheless, "Daniel, I think I figured out how to tap into my new power. I just had to be satisfied, and I am now. We have our little monsters. We know how this happened, what our parents went through… and I still have you."

Everyone else smirked and turned away out of awkwardness as Daniel smiled, touched, and he gently kissed his wife's forehead, whispering as he smoothed her cheek, "Get some sleep, fy Gwenhwyfar. I'll be here when you wake up."


	13. Conversations and Discussions

After managing to get Daniel out of the Infirmary, a Herculean feat which had involved blackmail and, ultimately, threats of physical violence from a certain Jaffa, Cam took the Archaeologist's place at the Astrophysicist's bedside as Teal'c made sure that Daniel ate, showered, and got some rest in his quarters.

Vala joined him shortly afterwards, drawing up a seat next to him, and she asked as he gently kissed her in greeting, "Anything?"

Cam shook his head and replied, holding Sam's hand in one hand, his wife's in the other, "Nope. I hope she's going to be ok, though. It's been a long day for her."

Vala smiled slightly as she watched Sam, and she leaned her head on Cam's shoulder as he slipped an arm around her shoulders, and she said softly, "We could name the next one after Samantha."

Amused, he asked, "What makes you think it's going to be a girl?"

"Because, Cameron, your step-daughter was of the female variety."

He nodded solemnly as he remembered how Adria had died, and he said, kissing her again as he tightened his hold on her, "I wouldn't mind having another little Mitchell with his or her mother's hair."

She smiled as her gaze moved from his chin to Sam, and she said, "Samantha is a very able warrior and has saved us all so many times. It is only fitting that we name one of our progeny after her."

He hummed in agreement, and then looked up on hearing a sound to see Cassie, her long hair clipped up, approaching, fear on her face. Cam whispered something to Vala and, when she straightened up and looked at Cassie, Cam got up and hugged the Hankan as she began to cry. Vala joined the hug as Cam said softly,

"It's ok. Sam's just resting. She had a long day."

Cassie asked, peeking at Sam, her voice trembling, "There's nothing wrong, is there?"

Vala smoothed the younger woman's honey coloured hair and replied soothingly, "She's fine, Cassandra. It's a long story."

Cam asked, "How was Atlantis?"

Cassie, who had been on an apprenticeship with Carson over in Atlantis and had just been dropped into the base by the Odyssey, replied as she dried her eyes and allowed herself a little smile, "Good. It was a lot fun."

"I can imagine. Is anyone close to marrying yet?"

Cassie laughed softly and replied as Cam gently sat her down at Sam's bedside, "I think Carson and Rodney are. Elizabeth and John are still getting used to living with each other, although... never say never. Jennifer and Evan might be doing the Mr and Mrs thing soon, I think."

Vala smiled, and asked, "How are Charlotte and Helen?"

"They're doing ok... John and Evan get a little edgy about their girls' whereabouts sometimes, considering the previous situation in the City, but it's all good."

Cassie held Sam's hand as she gazed at her mentor, her last remaining maternal figure and best friend, worry still in her eyes, and Cam said, gently patting her on the shoulder before inclining his head towards the door as he looked at Vala, "You've got a lot to catch up on, but everything's peachy. We'll just leave you to have a little alone time with her though."

Cassie nodded, not taking her eyes from Sam, and Cam held his wife's hand as they left the Infirmary, Vala whispering, "I think she might choose Samantha as a name too."

"Nothing wrong with that although it could get confusing."

--------------------

Meanwhile, Jonas and Carolyn sat close together in the observation room, during a particularly quiet moment, the medic's head resting on her husband's shoulder as they held hands. He said as they watched Cam and Vala talking, Cam holding Sam's hand in the Infirmary below,

"I've been thinking, Carolyn..."

She looked up at him curiously, and he continued, smiling down at her, "How about we take a turn being parents?"

She smiled, leaning her head again on his shoulder as she replied, his fingers moving through her dark hair, "I'd like that a lot. It was a bit tough before with our jobs, with yours especially, but the others managed it. Sam and Daniel have five, Vala and Cam have one but I wouldn't be surprised if that number went up soon... they just seem like they would want more children."

They kissed, and she said affectionately, "I want a little boy with his father's face and sense of wonder."

"And I wouldn't mind a little girl as, ah, beautiful and clever as her mother."

"We better have twins then... that whole birthing process looks very painful."

He grimaced, remarking, "I imagine it is... especially judging by Daniel's... Sam's... Vala's experiences."

He smiled as he kissed her, and he asked, "How about we kick start the reproductive process tonight?"

She remarked with a little laugh, "Oh, geeky flirting... how romantic. Well, Mister, you're on if we don't get sidetracked by anything on base."

He grinned as he hugged her, and then wrapped an arm around her as they watched Cam and Vala leave Cassie at Sam's bedside. Jonas said, surprised,

"The Atlantis people must have come back... "

At that moment, they heard a female voice say in a Scottish accent, "How very professional of you... you're lucky your father's not in charge of the base any more."

They turned around, amused, to see a pregnant Carson standing in the doorway from the corridor, and their jaws dropped as they looked at each other in shock and back at Carson, who remarked with a roll of her eyes,

"Yes... a baby. I am a woman, you know."

--------------------

Daniel eventually managed to escape Teal'c's surveillance, or, as Teal'c had later put it, he had let him get away, and made his way back to the Infirmary, passing many Atlantis personnel on the way. Seeing a pregnant Carson, he stopped, blinking in surprise, and Carson said with a smile,

"Daniel, how are you doing? I heard about Sam – she's looking fine though... you Ancients."

Daniel smiled slowly and said, "Uh... you're pregnant."

Carson cocked her head and retorted quietly when no-one was around them, "So were you, and you've got a willy."

Daniel promptly blushed and Carson remarked in amusement, "Oh, it's great being a woman sometimes."

She patted her bump and said, "Yep, five months gone. Thought we'd finally get down to it."

He replied, eventually hugging her, "Ah, sorry... it's just a shock. Congratulations."

She smiled and offered him her left hand to show him a ring. He marvelled at the diamond on the gold band, and asked, now amused, "You're engaged as well?"

She retorted, pretending to be affronted, "Really, Daniel, what type of girl do you take me for?"

"Congratulations again. Are you staying long?"

"Yeah, Rodney and I thought we'd stay on Earth until the baby's born."

He reached out to smooth the swollen abdomen and asked, "Do you know if it's a he or a she?"

"Aye, a wee lass."

"Oh, that's great."

McKay approached them, remarking with a frown, "Daniel, you've already stolen Sam... keep your hands off my fiancée."

Daniel, amused further, greeted McKay with a smile, and asked, "Are you going to Vancouver?"

HIs arm around Carson, McKay replied, "Yeah, we might as well. Jeannie loved Carson the last time... it'll blow her socks off. You off to see Sam? How is she?"

Daniel replied quietly, "She's resting. I was just on my way to see her."

Carson looked at McKay and then said looking back at Daniel and taking his hand, "Come on, we'll go with you. Wow, so much has changed. I want to see baby number five."

The three of them walked to the Infirmary, and Daniel asked, "How's Cassie?"

Carson and McKay smiled, the former remarking as they stepped over the threshold into the medical facility, "Why don't you ask her yourself?"

Daniel looked up in surprise to see the Doctor sat at one side of Sam's bed, Cassie on the other, in between Cam and Vala, Teal'c sat next to the Doctor with Jonas, and the Archaeologist said with a tired grin, "Cassie!"

Cassie looked up and instantly returned the grin as she got up and rushed to hug him, saying, "Daniel!"

They hugged, and Daniel asked, "How have you been?"

Cassie replied as she led him by the hand to Sam's bedside, the Doctor nodding in greeting at the Archaeologist, "Oh, brilliant. I've missed this place though."

"This place will do that to you."

They were soon joined by Sheppard and Elizabeth, Lorne and Jennifer too, the Infirmary now very crowded, much to Carolyn's inner annoyance. Daniel leaned over to smooth his wife's hand, and was about to settle back into his seat when her eyes flickered open. He, and everyone else, smiled in relief at the sight, and Sam gazed straight up at her husband as he sat on the edge of her bed, holding her hands, and she said, a little hoarse,

"Hey."

He smiled back at her, saying, "Hey, yourself. How are you feeling?"

"A lot better... you're looking a lot better too. Did Teal'c threaten you?"

Teal'c cleared his throat and replied from behind her reclining form, "Indeed I did, Samantha."

Surprised, as Carolyn checked her over, Sam turned to look and noticed the large body of people around her bed, her eyes eventually moving to Cassie. She smiled at the Hankan affectionately and then looked around at the people again, joined shortly by a concerned Jack, who remarked,

"The minute I leave you, you manage to get into some sort of trouble. How are you doing, Carter?"

Sam replied with a weak smile as Daniel smoothed her brow tenderly as Jack managed to get closer to Sam's bedside, "I'm getting better, thanks, Sir."

Carolyn called with a clap of her hands and her best no-nonsense look, "Right, everyone out. You can visit Colonel Jackson later."


	14. Conversations, Discussions and Goodbyes

Discharged from the Infirmary, Sam was escorted from the Infirmary by an overwhelmingly happy Daniel, who gave her the lowdown of every piece of Atlantis gossip that he had heard or encountered. Amused at several points, one especially, she remarked,

"Well, Carson is a woman. The Asgard made sure of that."

He smiled and said, his smile fading by half way through, "Well, it was still odd. It's sad that Carson's mother can't come to the wedding though."

She nodded with a little sigh, saying, "There's too much at stake... plus you don't know what her reaction would be to the news that her son, who was killed in action, is now a woman and is getting married. That would take a ridiculously open mind and then I'm not sure."

He hummed in agreement and then asked as he gazed at her, "How are you?"

Bemused, she replied, "I'm fine, Daniel... I really am."

"How are you really?"

She stopped walking as she asked, confused, "What is it? What's going on?"

He replied quietly, "I'm worried about you, Sam. After everything we've been through, there's still more, and... you really scared me during that time travel stint. I thought I'd lost you."

She watched him in worry and said softly, "I'm still here."

"And I'm thankful for each minute I have with you."

Smiling slightly, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into an alcove as he frowned in confusion. She checked that the corridor was empty before turning around and wrapping her arms around his neck to kiss him, whispering as they rested their foreheads together, "Me too."

They kissed again, and he said, gazing at her lovingly as they held hands, "Come on, let's get to the gateroom before they send out search parties."

They smiled at each other and quickly emerged from the alcove, much to the amusement of a few passing SFs and SG-team members, and they jogged to the gateroom, Sam shrieking with laughter at the prospect of them being caught.

The laughter quickly died down as she remembered her status on base, and she cleared her throat, smirking slightly at Daniel, who was barely hiding his amusement, and she looked around at the gathered personnel who were there to see the Doctor off, gathered around the TARDIS that stood in the centre of the gateroom.

As Daniel moved to stand with Cassie and the rest of SG-1, Sam approached the Doctor as he turned from telling a joke to Sheppard, and he gazed at her, now dressed in a brown suit with a medium brown trench coat. She said with a slight smile as she straightened the lapels of his coat, a hint of sadness in her eyes,

"I guess this is goodbye again… well, for me anyway. For you, it's just goodbye."

He gazed at her softly, remarking quietly, "Again or otherwise, it's hard leaving you. It's been really great getting to know you."

She closed her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder as his arms came around her, and she whispered, sniffing back oncoming tears, "I'm going to miss you, Doctor."

"I'm going to miss you too, but I guess I'm still in your future if what you told me about Grace is correct. I get a little Carter-Jackson with her mother's fighting spirit coming along for the ride. You know… if you want, you could come with me."

She shook her head and replied as she looked up at him, "I'm sorry, Doctor. Maybe one day… but right now, Daniel needs me and so do our babies."

He hugged her again and said, "Well, you're more than welcome, whenever you want to. I get the feeling that it would be interesting to travel with you. Take care of yourself, ok? You've found the answers to so many questions, many questions you didn't know how to ask…"

"Thanks Doctor… you too. I wish you could stay longer."

"I'd really like that. Maybe one day."

She touched his jaw affectionately and looked past him at the TARDIS through her tears as she remarked with a smile, "Well, Doctor, the TARDIS awaits."

She raised a hand and the door opened, much to the Doctor's surprise, who said, "I'm the only person who can open it… usually."

"I'm not your usual girl, Doc."

"That's true."

He smiled and she kissed him on the cheek before he slowly moved away from her, walking back into the TARDIS as everyone watched, his eyes on the Colonel the whole time. He said from the doorway with a grin,

"Have a great life, Colonel Jackson."

Sam smiled through her tears as the door closed and she turned, only to find herself in Daniel's embrace, and the Jacksons watched, along with everyone else, as the TARDIS faded noisily out of sight. Daniel gently kissed her temple, finally coming to some sort of sensible understanding of her relationship with the Doctor, and he whispered as she held onto him,

"Come on, Colonel, let's go home."


	15. Niceties

Daniel, at home, attempted to single-handedly put all of the children to bed so that Sam could rest, but was challenged first by James demanding a story and pouting when he didn't get his way, and Jake and Claire needing to be fed. And then to cap it all off, Grace flatly refused to go to sleep.

Amused on hearing Cammie back up James' argument for Alice in Wonderland to an understandably reluctant Daniel, Sam walked into the older twins' room to find Daniel bottle-feeding a now grumpy looking Grace in his lap as he fed the two younger twins who sat on his knees, all the while reading to the elder twins. Smiling at the flustered Archaeologist, she affectionately smoothed his hair back and picked Grace and Jake up, feeding the little boy as she cradled Grace.

Sam remarked, gazing down at a calmer looking Grace as she removed the bottle from her mouth, "You can't multitask all the time."

Daniel smiled at her, retorting, "Not when our elder duet are demanding the worst book that they could possibly ask for right now, our younger duet are hungry, and our monster-in-chief is as stubborn as her mother."

"You just don't have the necessary equipment."

She smirked as he blushed, and they eventually settled the older twins down, not before a million and one questions about where Alice was precisely, and they left the room for the younger twins' room, settling Jake and Claire down. Grace began to whimper again, and Sam gently bounced her in her hold, leaving the room as she whispered,

"Shh, Gracie, it's your turn now."

As a blushing Daniel went into the bathroom as Sam laughed in amusement, the Colonel breastfed the baby, stroking the little girl's cheek as she finally began to relax, her eyes closed. Daniel remarked from inside the bathroom,

"She's a typical Jackson. It took a long time to wean the quartet off your boobs."

She retorted quietly as Grace continued to feed, "Well, they take after their Daddy."

He emerged and caressed her cheek and then his daughter's as he hugged his wife over the baby. He kissed Sam's forehead, whispering with a smile,

"It's times like these, where we actually get them settled down within an hour that make it all worth it."

"Oh Daniel… it's worth it anyway, and shows that we have so much faith in the world that we helped protect, that we're willing to bring new life into it."

She looked at him meaningfully and continued, "I'm not having another one though. Grace was cutting it fine… In fact, all our naturally born children were cutting it fine considering my ages when I had them."

He played with her hair as he said with a little smile, "I don't care how old you are. You'll always be hot to me."

She smiled, asking, "Even when my hair's white and I'm all wrinkly?"

"Oh, definitely."

"You'd make a very good looking old man."

He smiled, his cheeks reddening, and he said, looking down at their daughter, "I think Grace has finished."

She looked down to see a now dozing albeit very satisfied baby with a milky rim around her mouth. Sam, amused, cleaned up Grace's mouth, remarking as Daniel held the baby,

"Yet another Jackson trait."

"We're still going to have to burp her otherwise she's going to wake up in a couple of hours making funny faces."

"I dare you to do it over your shoulder."

He smirked, remarking, "I like this shirt. Apparently it's a Colonel magnet."

As Sam laughed, he held Grace in one arm, rubbing her back with his other hand as she squealed and squirmed. As Sam wiped up the milk solids that were brought up after Grace had burped, she said, yawning a little, her tiredness showing,

"I'm going to have a long soak and then I'm going to bed… I'm zapped."

He smiled, saying as he kissed her, holding a now sleeping Grace, "Ok, honey. Do you want anything to eat?"

She replied, tiredly rubbing her shoulder underneath her shirt, "Oh, only if you're eating."

Still smiling, he went into Grace's room and laid her down in her crib as she woke up a little, gurgling. Daniel stroked her fair head and whispered, leaning down to kiss her,

"Goodnight, my little angel."

Grace drifted back to sleep as Daniel watched her with a smile. After checking in on the other children, he went into the bathroom, his hands in his pockets as he asked, a touch shyly,

"Is the crazy Colonel enjoying her bath?"

Sam, lying in a candlelit bath, replied with a grin, "She sure is… God, this is so thoughtful of you… you know, you didn't have to do this."

He kneeled on the floor at the side of the bath and said with a shrug, "I wanted to. You've been through so much lately, especially since Grace made our quartet a quintet."

He asked as he watched her close her eyes with a tiny smile, "How are you feeling?"

She replied, "Hmm, a lot better now… thanks."

He watched her in wonder, her hair and skin illuminated by the flickering flames of lots of candles, and he said, "You're so beautiful."

"And, as I've said many times before and succeeded in making you blush redder than a fire hydrant, you're absolutely gorgeous."

She remarked with a laugh, "I love telling you that, because sometimes when you're not wearing a shirt, you strut around… It's a lot of fun giving you an ego-stroking."

He looked down at the floor, obviously embarrassed but smiling nonetheless, and she continued, enjoying his squirming, "And there are the other types of stroking too…"

--------------------

Later, as they got ready for bed, Daniel gently laid Sam down on her front on their bed, and she asked, not feeling anything in general from him, "Daniel?"

"Ssshh, Sam…"

He slipped her top off and firmly but soothingly massaged her shoulders and her back. She groaned under his touch, feeling tension leave her body. She whispered,

"God, Daniel… is your goal tonight to make me melt into the covers?"

He lowered his lips to her neck, kissing it, and he replied as he continued his caresses, "I'm finally giving you something."

"Daniel…"

"Nope, you've taken a lot that you shouldn't have."

She said, her voice muffled against the bed, "Daniel, you really don't have to do this… I…"

His hands moved to the back of her legs as he replied, "It's ok, I want to. We're always either on missions, at work, catching up on sex…"

She hummed, smiling as she said, "Oh yeah… this is so relaxing, just being here like this…"

He asked, "Do you… want to do it tonight?"

"No… it's nice like this. There's no expectations… I'm just melting. And besides, Cassie's going to be home in a few hours."

When he had finished, he lay by her side as they gazed at each other, and she said with a smile, "Thank you."

He smiled back, and she continued, "I'm proud of you today, Daniel. You apologised to the Doctor for dotting him. I really am proud of you, because I know how much it took you to do that."

He stroked her cheek and said softly, "I've been a fool Sam… I've acted like a typical man. I do trust you, you do know that, don't you? I trust you with my heart and my life."

She kissed him in answer, and he continued with a sigh, "I know it's a pathetic excuse, but it almost felt like when I lost Sha're. I didn't want to lose you too."

She slid a hand under his t-shirt to smooth his stomach and kissed him, replying with tears in her eyes, "The Doctor isn't evil, Daniel… and he wasn't out to steal me."

"I finally understand… somewhat. I'd like to think that if I had a deep platonic bond with another woman, that you wouldn't go around dotting her."

"I would be jealous."

Surprised, he asked, "You would?"

She nodded, replying as she smiled slightly, continuing her caresses of his stomach, "Definitely. You really don't see yourself in the way others see you… but I do trust you."

"He had a relationship with you in the alternate timeline though."

"I know, but it wasn't like our relationship. It would have been like two lonely people finding solace in each other, I imagine. From what I learnt from that first time, it only happened because you were gone and never came back."

She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes as he hugged her, and he said with a sigh, "Hopefully we'll be alright now… although this new set of powers that you have is something that can't be ignored."

She nodded, and he gently kissed her temple, whispering, "Let's go to sleep, Samantha."

She said quietly as she held onto him, "We're going to have to look into where your Dad found the Star."

"The words 'needle' and 'haystack' come to mind… especially since the place where he found it was burnt down shortly after he had found it. Maybe we could go look for it though… there might be something else too."

"Yeah. You know, I could get used to being human again. It's a little odd, but… Oh, I want to feel you again."

He tightened his hold on her, replying, "I was going to wait until you were better. You're still a bit weak."

"Daniel… I'm fine."

She kissed him, and then they gazed at each other, holding hands. He asked, losing himself in the ever inquisitive blue-grey depths that had never failed to captivate him,

"Are you sure?"

"More than I'll ever be."

He smiled slightly and caressed her face as he said softly, "Clear your mind and focus on me."

She mirrored his smile as they continued to gaze at each other, white light surrounding them, the wave growing in power and intensity as it engulfed them but didn't reflect off anything else in the room. They closed their eyes, their senses reeling from the growing surge of power between them, and suddenly, it felt as though what had been blocking their reciprocal psychic and empathic abilities had been lifted with an awe-inspiring clarity.

Their eyes opened, each pair illuminated by a glowing white light as they gazed at each other, awe-struck, as they each exchanged a rush of emotions, feelings and thoughts. Glowing tears ran down their cheeks, feeling, overall, an overwhelming sense of relief and completeness.

The light eventually faded and they quickly hugged, Daniel whispering as he closed his eyes, his face on her shoulder, "I can feel you again… oh God. I've forgotten how it feels."

He ran his fingertips down her neck, smiling despite being overwhelmed as he felt the delightful shivers she felt at the contact. She kissed his neck and replied silently as she sniffed back tears,

'_I don't want to go back to not feeling like this any more… this is such a beautiful state of being. I've always been able to share anything with you, but this… this always has been another level of sharing. I've missed this._'

'_I've missed this too… We're hooked to this. There's no way we can go back. It's like an evolution of our previous relationship. Going back would be like us going back to being Cro-Magnons._'

She retorted with a grin as he touched her lips, '_We have a psychic connection and I still have trouble working out half the things you say._'

'_Ditto._'


	16. Fathers

_Just in case you've forgotten, or not read Commanders, Claire's middle name is Jacqueline._

_--------------------_

"Well, for once, Space Monkey… I agree with ya. Grace definitely is like your ol' lady."

Daniel smiled slightly as Jack cooed down at a scowling Grace in the kitchen, the Archaeologist hearing in his head,

'_Your__**old **__lady?! Give me one reason that he shouldn't be singing castrato right now.'_

'_Uh… because… he's your commanding officer, and he's getting married next week._'

'_He should have thought about it before insulting his supposed best ever second-in-command…_'

'_Sam…_'

He sighed and remarked with a raise of his eyebrows, "I don't think Sam's going to take to that too nicely."

Jack replied as he handed a grizzling Grace back to Daniel, Claire clambering onto the General's lap, followed by Jake, "Well… I knew she's listening in on Ancient FM, so I thought I'd rile her up. It's rude to eavesdrop, Carter."

'_Right, that's it… Step back for a moment. This won't take long._'

Daniel smirked and allowed Sam's consciousness to supersede his. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again, they were noticeably a different colour – blue-grey to be precise, and when he opened his mouth to speak, Sam's voice came out,

"Very funny, Sir. Unlike you, I can't help it."

Daniel closed his eyes again as Jack blinked slowly in shock, and Sam's consciousness retracted from the Archaeologist's as his resumed normal business.

'_Nice one, honey… that really spooked the hell out of him._'

'_He deserved it._'

Daniel smiled innocently as he watched Jack, who asked, "She can do that?"

Daniel nodded and replied, his smile fading, "Sam did it on Erebus to knock out the Lucian Alliance guys when I couldn't do anything."

Jack asked, "Can she hear you and everything you hear all the time?"

"Yep, unless I consciously block her. I don't usually bother anyway because we share everything."

"I'd say you're boring but then Carter would blast me again."

Daniel smiled, and Jack looked down at Jake and Claire, asking as Daniel bounced Grace on his knee, "So, Jake… Jackie… how are you two doing?"

'_Oh for crying out loud… Daniel, your kids are streaking again._'

'_How come they're only mine when they're naturists?_'

'_Because you have a penchant for streaking strange planets, my office, and the lounge._'

Daniel couldn't help but snicker softly at that, and Jack's head shot up, the General looking straight at the Archaeologist as he asked, his eyebrows raised, "Was it rude?"

Looking at Jack in confusion for a moment, Daniel replied, smiling slightly, "Cammie and James are streaking again."

"Party animals just like their pa… You wanna go help your old lady? I'm sure Grace will take to eventually liking me like her Mom did. Boy, was she a tough nut to crack…"

Daniel chuckled as he handed Grace over to Jack, picking Jake up as he said to the little boy, "Come on, Jakey, let's go shout at your naughty brother and sister."

Jack remarked as Grace grizzled before Claire stroked her cheek, the General bouncing both of them on his knees, "Threaten the Carpenters with a visitation from me. That should stop it."

"Yeah right… they'd expand their territory and do it downstairs."

Jack grimaced, retorting, "I've seen too many Jackson wangs for this lifetime. Hoo boy…"

He continued with a smirk, "Those two are gonna rule Kindergarten next year. They'll be getting detention on the first day. Can you even get detention in Kindergarten? Well, only one way to find out…"

Daniel smiled from the doorway, remarking as Jake rested his head on his father's shoulder, "If there's anything that they'd get detention for, it'll be starting fights with the other kids like their Mom."

'_Hey, I heard that!_'

'_I know, honey. Why do you think I said it?_'

--------------------

Daniel ascended the stairs to find Sam trying to coax a giggling albeit nude James from under a bed, Cammie leaping up and down on another bed, squealing with laughter. Sam looked up on Daniel's arrival, remarking as she wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand,

"Oh, thank God you're here. These two keep thinking it's funny."

Daniel placed Jake down on the floor, and then said to Cammie, grabbing a towel that Sam had dropped on the floor earlier, "Cameron, why do you always do this to your mother? Show some respect, now."

Cammie's giggling and jumps died down as she wasn't sure what was happening, staring at her father with tears in her eyes, and Daniel continued with a stern expression, wrapping the towel around her as he lifted her from the bed,

"Your Mom works hard looking after you and your brothers and sisters. Do you honestly think it's funny giving her a hard time? Go and apologise to your mother now."

Cammie began to cry, burying her head in her father's shoulder, but Daniel said, standing her up on the floor, "No Cameron, now."

As a touched Sam hugged a blubbering Cammie who whispered an apology to her mother, Daniel reached under the now quiet bed, firmly pulling a now serious James out, and he said,

"Same to you, young man. Say sorry to your mother. I don't want to ever see you behaving like this again, do you understand?"

James nodded as Daniel wrapped another towel around him, the boy looking shell-shocked before bursting into tears. Daniel gently pushed him towards his mother, who looked at Daniel for a moment, and hugged James as he whispered into her shoulder,

"Sorry Mommy."

'_Daniel…_'

'_Honey, I didn't want to do that but we're going to have start laying down the law otherwise they're going to walk all over us. I'm s…_'

'_Don't…_'

She smiled and continued silently as they began to dress their children, Jake occasionally helping until he was gently stopped, '_I quite like you being an authority figure like that. It reminds me of all the times you faced off enemies off world, and the negotiations you led. I just thought our little people would grow out of it, but evidently not…_'

'_I don't think they'll do it again now._'

Daniel sighed, not feeling good about what he had done, and Sam touched his arm, maintaining eye contact for a long moment as she smiled slightly. She gently kissed him, and he caressed her face as they finished dressing the twins, the Archaeologist and the Astrophysicist occasionally gazing at each other.


	17. Billy the Kid

_Well… I've brought Charmed into this story too…. I'll go and change the first chapter's notes. lol. If there's anything you want to see, you know what to do. Oh, and by the way, the 'accident' mentioned isn't something that happened in Charmed. _

_--------------------_

"Well… let's see what happened this month… the myth of quite possibly America's greatest Wild West outlaw was totalled… Sam and Jackson were almost brother and sister, and… still are, sort of… Oh, and then there's this whole Stardust thing."

"Star of Ma'at," corrected a frowning Daniel as Sam smirked a little from the head of the briefing table.

Cam retorted, amused, "Same thing, different name."

Teal'c said as Cam and Vala exchanged a little smile, "The myth of Billy the Kid is markedly different in reality."

Jonas exhaled and said, looking around at the rest of SG-1 sat around the briefing table, "I wonder whether we'll, ah, meet him at some point, if he's an Ancient."

Everyone looked to Daniel for some insight, knowing that he had most, if not all of his memories of both prolonged periods of time he had spent amongst the Ascended. When he looked confused, and admittedly more than a little self-conscious at the attention, Sam asked with a smile, "Did you ever meet Billy the Kid when you were Ascended?"

Daniel shrugged and replied, "I don't know. It doesn't ring a bell. I imagine that there are a lot more Ancients than I ever encountered. It's like Vala, Teal'c or Jonas asking me if I knew someone on this planet on account of being from Earth."

The others exchanged amused and knowing looks at Daniel's snarkiness, and Vala said, rolling her eyes, "Daniel… I wouldn't say something like that… you're not a very social person, so of course you wouldn't know everyone here."

Cam chuckled as Teal'c smirked, and Jonas said, scratching the back of his neck, "Ah… Vala, there's something like six and a half billion people here."

"Oh, that's nothing… a drop in the ocean."

Sam laughed quietly and then said, sitting up a little straighter, "Moving on, folks… I've received word from the Egyptian authorities, who aren't buying the classified excuse. They want to know _exactly _what we want with Deir-el-Medina, and sixty percent of any finds… which I'll admit is pretty generous, but obviously unacceptable, taking into account the classified nature of this facility and its operations."

Daniel nodded, and Cam exhaled before asking, "Do we go ahead with the excavation?"

Daniel looked at Sam and said, "I don't think we need to. We can travel back in time and space. It's immoral, I know, but there's going to be no fuss and we'll find out what we want to know." He shrugged. "I guess we could travel back to before my father found the supposed chamber under the village. We need to see the writing he talked about."

'_Jackson…_'

'_I can't believe you're on duty in your head too._'

'_It's… an Air Force thing. Are you alright?_'

'_Yeah… I guess it's still a bit weird talking about Dad like that, like we actually met him._'

Cam said, looking around at the team, "So, just a little covert Jackson op, or do you want the rest of us?"

Sam replied with a sigh, "We can make it an official team operation. We'll have to wait for the President to approve it though. Actually, before that, we're going to have to make it a watertight plan, and seeing as we're all due to go home soon, we can do it tomorrow. I suggest you think about it though."

They all nodded, and Teal'c opened his mouth to speak when a bright flash of bluish white light drew their collective attentions to the window overlooking the Stargate, where a well-built man with brown hair stood, gazing at the device through the glass with a small smile. The team exchanged glances, checking if they each saw it, and Sam asked as she silently summoned two SFs cautiously,

"And who might you be?"

The man turned around, dressed in normal clothes, his hands raised as he said with a little grin, noticing the guns aimed at him, "Hi!"

Daniel suddenly looked as though he'd seen a ghost for a moment and then he stood as the man looked at him with a friendly smile, and he said, eventually smiling, "Leo? What are you doing here?"

The two men hugged as the others looked bewildered, and Sam asked, confused, "Leo? As in Piper's husband?"

Daniel nodded and replied, "I didn't recognise him at first but then I remembered. I did see him when I was ascended."

Daniel asked as Sam silently gestured for the SFs to stand down, "So, what are you doing here?"

Leo replied with a soft smile as he slowly walked towards Sam, "I've come to see the Star of Ma'at."

Daniel shot Leo's back a steely look as Sam smirked slightly on sensing it, and she said, looking nervous as the man looked at her, "Hi."

Leo said with a small smile, "I always thought it would have been a stone in its final form, but it's you… the Listener. That's too big a coincidence."

Sam looked past him to Daniel, who shrugged, and Leo continued, "You don't know who I am, do you?"

Confused further, Sam said, "Um… Leo Wyatt?"

"Well… yeah, but who else?"

They all gaped in shock as he continued with a smile, "Billy the Kid."

Vala remarked, raising a finger, "Wait a minute, you're really Billy the Kid? I thought you were a medic in World War Two who got ascended?"

Leo nodded and replied, "I am."

"Then how are you half-Alteran?"

"Ah, I see you've met the Doctor. He knew I wasn't quite human. You see, in an accident while time travelling, I ended up having to stay in the Old West for a while. I didn't want to attract attention to myself unnecessarily."

Cam remarked sceptically as Leo was seated at the table, "So you told people you were half-Ancient?"

"It worked out easier with the Doctor. I assume you've heard of what Pat Garrett really is?"

They all nodded, and Teal'c said, "A Goa'uld."

"Yep. The Ancients stepped in and stopped him from killing me. They removed his symbiote."

Daniel asked with a frown, "Isn't that… or rather, wasn't that against their non-interference rule?"

Leo shrugged and replied, "They did things when it suited them… and apparently saving me, did. I guess I attracted a little much attention by using my healing powers."

Cam asked, "So you're the greatest cowboy that's ever been?"

"I guess so."

Sam smiled slightly and asked, "Well… in that case, could you help us go back to before the Star of Ma'at was found?"

"Sure… I'll have to call in an old favour though."


	18. Clyde

Stood in the gateroom, everybody but Leo dressed in combat gear, the team looked at the Ancient oddly as he shouted up at the ceiling, "Hey Clyde, get your butt down here now, you stinking pile of tumbleweed!"

He looked at everyone with a sheepish smile, finally at Sam as he said in way of an explanation, "You've gotta make him mad."

Sam nodded, as everyone looked sceptical, Daniel whispering silently, '_Please don't tell me he's really Nick in disguise…_'

'_He's an Ancient, just like you were… or kind of still are… Who is Clyde?_'

'_I have no idea._'

They watched, along with a bewildered Walter and Reynolds from the control room, as Leo continued, "Your mother had loose morals and smelled fetid!"

'_Ooh… that's going to get whoever that is down for sure, if only to beat him senseless._'

'_Whoever it is would get shot before he threw punch one, Daniel. Stop being jealous._'

Cam smiled slightly on noticing Daniel shoot Sam a withering look, and then a gust of wind blew through the gateroom as everyone but Leo looked around for the source. Suddenly a scruffy looking middle-aged man in a dark trench coat appeared, looking very angry. Clyde barked in a rough voice as he rounded on a grinning Leo,

"Leo! Why do you always call me when I'm busy with clients?! I was at the first moonlanding! This really better be goo…"

He trailed off on seeing the Stargate and he said quietly, his voice awed, "A Milky Way Stargate… This has got to be good."

He released a long whistle and then asked Leo, "What is it?"

Leo said, gesturing to the team around him, "This is the legendary SG-1, and the Star of Ma'at."

Clyde finally smiled and asked as his eyes locked onto Sam, "A job… why didn't you mention that first instead of insulting my mother?"

"Force of habit, and besides, it's not a job, it's a favour. We need you to take us back to before she became the Star of Ma'at, when the Star of Ma'at was in the desert sands of Deir-el-Medina."

Clyde grinned and said, "Piece of cake. I can do that but it'll cost ya."

"It's a favour, Clyde."

"Oh, what have you done for me lately?"

"Oh… how about the time you returned someone to the past, this time in mid-air? I think there were fifty-six broken bones – a new record for you – and I had to heal the poor man."

The team suddenly looked sceptical, Daniel asking silently, '_We can heal each other… right?_'

'_Come on, Jackson, stop worrying._'

Leo, as if on cue, said to them reassuringly, "He's not always that clumsy."

Clyde yelled, affronted, "I'm not clumsy!"

"Tell that to Elvis. Now can you take us or not? Or are we going to have to fight?"

Clyde threw him a sceptical look and then said reluctantly, "Alright, but you owe me after this… big time. I'm missing a moonlanding for this… stupid Ancients…"

Leo grinned and said as Clyde made a door appear in the middle of the gateroom, "Clyde's nicer than he lets on."


	19. The Desert Village

"Can anyone see us now?"

Leo smiled in amusement at Daniel as the six members of SG-1 and the Ancient stood in the desert village of Deir-el-Medina, remarking as he patted the Archaeologist on the back,

"Still as impatient as ever, I see, Daniel…"

The others smirked, and he continued, surveying their surroundings, "Well… the last time I did something like this, it was with my sister-in-law, Paige. We went back to when she was a teenager and she became her younger self for the duration. So… in conclusion, seeing as no-one here but Teal'c was born until 1965 at the very least – and he's not even from Earth – and I was already ascended by now, it's somewhat impractical for you to be all amoebas, zygotes and whatnot."

Sam smiled slightly at the long answer, reminded so much of Daniel, and Cam remarked, "Well, the less said about conception the better. So we're invisible again?"

Leo nodded, and Sam said, peering into the distance as Teal'c's gaze froze on the same spot, "Well folks, I think I know what we're aiming for."

Teal'c replied "Indeed," and the party began to walk in the direction of a large tented area. Sam asked with a happy sigh as she fell into step beside Leo,

"So… how are the Charmed Ones doing?"

He smiled as he looked back at her, trudging through the sand, "Great. Piper insisted I help you out… and it turns out that I'm supposed to anyway. I've always wanted to meet you."

Sam smiled as she looked down for a moment, and Daniel asked, finally accepting that Sam wasn't going to run away with anyone but him, "What was it like living in the 1850's?"

Leo replied, his smile fading as he began to look nostalgic and pensive, "It was a cutthroat time where your life was in danger every day. You think being on SG-1 is tough. At least you get a respite when you come home, most of the time… back then, it was full on, 24/7. When you went to sleep, there was no guarantee that you'd see morning."

He continued with a little smile, "There were good times though… like working with the ponies. I liked them."

Sam remarked with a small grin as Cam chuckled, "I thought so. As surreal as this is going to sound, your tomb was nice."

He nodded. "Yeah… I heard about that." He scratched the back of his head briefly and grimaced, remarking,

"It's odd having a tomb."

They reached the tented area, only to find that it was overlooking an even larger tented area in a valley below. Leo asked as the others began to look a little put out,

"Colonel, do you want to go halves on the orbing? It'll be less taxing than having one person doing it."

Sam nodded and held his offered hand, closing her eyes as their immediate vicinity was bathed in bluish-white light, SG-1 exchanging glances before shrugging and going with it as they slowly disappeared from view.

Almost instantaneously, they appeared in the centre of what seemed to be a large archaeological excavation. As they all looked around at their surroundings, completely stunned, unseen by the milling workers and Archaeologists, Leo said with all exuberance as he rubbed his hands together,

"August, 1964, Deir-el-Medina."

Daniel, familiar with similar dig sites from his childhood, looked around and spotted his mother a few metres away, cataloguing some artefacts. As the other fanned out to explore their surroundings, he stood next to the old wooden table that his mother was working at, and he watched her.

Recently, he had only seen his father, and Sam's parents, but not his mother. He bit his lip as he watched her work, an aura of experience and wonder about her. So lost in watching Claire, he almost leapt into the air when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned briefly to see Sam, who asked, glancing at her mother-in-law,

"Daniel?"

Daniel released a shuddering breath and then turned back to his wife, saying as an ocean of long held sadness showed in his eyes, "Sam... It's... it's my Mom. She's... she's so... _alive._"

Keeping an eye on the positions of the other members of her team and Leo, she dried a tear that rolled down his cheek and hugged him. He clung onto her, whispering,

"Sorry. I know I should be professional but I can't help it. It's... Mom."

She gently ran his fingers through his hair, rubbing his upper back, and she said, feeling his sadness and his pain, "Come on... Daniel. Let's go. We have to look for the stone and I don't know how long we have."

She moved her arms to around his shoulders so she could look at him, and she asked, "Are you ok?"

He nodded, closing his eyes briefly, and she said, gazing at him in worry, "We'll talk later, ok? Right now we have to complete this mission."

They walked away a couple of feet but then both turned around to look at Daniel's mother one last time, as she continued to work, oblivious to their presence. Sam smiled, remarking,

"I see where you get your looks and your dedication from."

He smiled back, a little embarrassed, and she smiled before saying as she looked at Claire, "Bye, Mom."

Daniel squeezed her hand as he said softly to his mother, "Bye, Mom."

They gazed at each other and then were about to join their friends when they heard Cam call, "Colonel! We found it!"

They exchanged another glance and then sprinted in the direction of Cam and the others.

--------------------

Sam and Teal'c, their weapons raised, led the party into a dark chamber that had been dug out long before, beneath the sands and supported by wooden beams by the workers to stop it from collapsing. As Vala brought up the rear, Leo said, looking around,

"Wow, this is so much like Indiana Jones."

The others raised their eyebrows briefly, exchanging knowing smiles, and then Daniel, having been told by Sam that their flashlights wouldn't illuminate anything seeing as they weren't really there, switched his P-90's flashlight on, the light illuminating their surroundings.

Sam said, a little creeped out, "Uh... that's impossible. We're not even here. It's supposed to be like VR. What's going on?"

Daniel paused as they entered a small room with long vertical lines of glyphs soaring up the walls, and Cam replied in his stead, amused as Daniel's attention was immediately drawn to the writing, "Well... _obviously_ someone's expecting us."

Leo asked Daniel, looking up at the writing, "Can you make anything of it? It looks familiar."

Daniel replied distractedly as Jonas joined him, "It's Ancient Egyptian. Dad was right. It tells the story of a baby who will grow up to be the saviour of the cosmos along with her husband. It also mentions five children, two of whom with powers of immense proportions. It even mentions our names... and oh God... James' unconventional conception."

He looked at Sam, the two of them worried, and Jonas began to take photos of the inscriptions. Daniel suddenly blinked as something hit him, and he said, looking amazed,

"I've never thought about it before... but it makes perfect sense that the Star is found here. Deir-el-Medina is the Arabic word for the area. It means 'Convent of the town', because during the Muslim conquest of Egypt, there was a Ptolemaic temple that had been converted to a Church."

He looked around at their surroundings and continued, looking more and more excited as the others began to look a little impatient, "The original name was _Set Maat her imenty Waset, _or the Place of Truth."

He then looked at Sam and asked, "Didn't you ever wonder why you can't lie easily? It's not that you can't lie, because you have when the situation called for it, but you just don't feel right about it; an unusually strong, inexplicable feeling that it's wrong. It's too big a coincidence."

Sam said, shaking her head, "That doesn't mean anything, Daniel... I mean, lots of people don't feel good about lying."

"... but you don't see them being the Star of Truth, now do you?"

Leo asked, "So, where's the Star? The place burned down shortly after your Dad found it, and seeing as the place is intact, it means it should be here."

Vala suggested, resulting in everyone looking at her, "Well, maybe Samantha's the one that has to find it."

Sam began to walk around the room, looking for any sort of trigger. When she had reached one of the doorposts, Teal'c noticed something. He said, drawing everyone's attention to the ceiling as it began to glow a bright red, and then pulsate,

"I believe ColonelJackson has located the Star of Ma'at."

A ruby red stone slowly descended from the ceiling, the stone having no obvious means of support. The team and Leo gathered around where the stone was aimed, and they looked up, Sam asking,

"How did it know?"

Jonas shrugged and replied, "It could be some sort of, ah, telepathy... or like with the temple on Erebus, it knows who you are."

Sam opened her hand, although she couldn't explain what instinct had led her to do that, and, as her friends watched in muted amazement and worry, the stone landed in her hand and glowed brighter and faster. Cam looked around at the team and at Leo, and asked,

"I hate to be the party pooper here, but how is Sam holding that if we're not here?"

Leo shrugged and said in a voice of hushed awe, truly surprised for once, having taken most of everything that came previously in his stride, "I have no idea."

Sam closed her eyes and then opened them again, saying, a note of desperation in her voice, "We can't let Doctor Jackson find this chamber."

The others exchanged odd looks, and Teal'c said, "I believe DanielJackson has already discovered this chamber and witnessed its contents."

Sam shook her head and said, "No... Daniel's Dad. We can't let him find it. There is way too much information on the walls... too much at stake."

Cam said, glancing at Vala, "Uh... right... you do know that this place gets burned down after that father-in-law of yours finds it?"

She was about to speak when a sound drew their attention to the doorway, where Melburn Jackson appeared, flashlight in hand, his clothes, skin and hair dust-streaked. The team and Leo froze, and then Sam said,

"This is on a different plane of reality. He can't see us."

They watched as Melburn found the inscriptions, and Sam opened her hand, the stone falling to the floor. Sam said, looking at Daniel and feeling guilty already,

"There aren't any Jeeps nearby, Daniel."

He stared at her, aghast, and Cam asked, "It's you who toasts this place?"

Sam looked at her husband and said, "I have to do this, Daniel. The temple has to be destroyed. Please don't hold it against me. If I don't do it, he'll know too much and it's going to change the future."

Daniel looked back at her, and then asked, "There were no Jeeps in the original timeline?"

"There were, but not initially. It's just so the fire is above suspicion."

They watched as an excited Melburn turned around, and then found the stone. He kneeled on the compacted mudbrick floor and dusted the stone with a cloth, looking at it in the light of his flashlight. The team then noticed it glimmer, and not due to the light. Melburn hadn't appeared to notice it, and they all paused when he whispered as he looked at it in wonder,

"Grace is going to love this."

He promptly pocketed it and then patted his pockets, murmuring, "Now where did I put that damn notebook?"

Sam squeezed Daniel's hand discreetly and they watched as Melburn left the chamber. Cam said, exhaling,

"Well, if you're gonna total this place, you have to do it now."

Sam gently kissed her husband on the cheek and whispered, "Sorry," before closing her eyes as the temple began to burn around them. They looked around at the flames, and, Sam, her eyes moist, closed her eyes again and orbed them out of the chamber.


	20. The Return

Leo and SG-1 returned through Clyde's door, back into the gateroom in front of a shocked Reynolds, and a huge albeit growing audience in the control room. Clyde said to Leo with a leering grin, which looked to be more of a grimace,

"Now _you _owe me."

Leo remarked in barely concealed amusement, "Yeah, until the next time you almost kill someone."

"Shut up!!!"

Clyde looked around at the team surrounding him, and he said, affecting a gracious bow as well as a heavy Southern accent, "Well, belles, beaus…and Leo, I must be on my way. Maybe I'll get to see Woodstock this time without any interruptions…"

He shot a glare at a grinning Leo, and then said in his usual gruff tones, "Sayonara, folks."

His harsh expression softened along with his voice as his eyes moved to Sam, and he said, tipping a non-existent hat, "… and you, Star of Ma'at."

One look at Daniel, who looked back at the man with a hostile expression, silently promising him great pain if he went any further, stopped him from taking a step towards the Colonel, and he made the door vanish with a wave of his hand. With one more look around at the gateroom and the 'gate, he vanished upwards in a spinning blur as a huge gust of wind blew through the gateroom.

After a full moment of looking up at the ceiling, Sam looked around at her team and remarked, exhaling and raising her eyebrows briefly, "When you think you've seen it all…"

She looked up at the people in the control room, and, taking the hint, they went back to work, the remaining Atlantis personnel the last to leave, all of them smirking. Sam looked at Reynolds and then said,

"Right folks, move out. We've got a briefing, and medicals to get to."

Leo whispered to Daniel as he fell in step with the Archaeologist, deliberately walking slower so that they were eventually walking behind the rest of the team, "Is she always that… _up_?"

Daniel feigned innocence right as Sam called from the front, the others turning to smirk at an initially surprised Leo, "_She_ can hear every word you're saying, Mr Wyatt."

--------------------

Waiting in the briefing room for Leo and the rest of the team to join them, Daniel and Cam, dressed in combat fatigues, sat at the briefing table, the latter remarking, "How many peeps have we had hanging with us so far this past year?"

Daniel replied with a frown, "Quite a few."

"I'll say. The Charmed Ones, Captain Jack, the Doctor, older Grace… the Doctor again, and Leo. Not bad going."

Cam then asked, looking at his team-mate, worry beneath the surface, "You're ok, right?"

Daniel looked at him and asked, bewildered, "What?"

Cam glared at him and said, "Don't act all innocent. I don't have to be psychic to know that Sam was worried as hell back there. I know Sam… she's tough, but she was so damn scared in case she got it wrong and totalled your Dad too."

Daniel looked down at the table and said, sadness involuntarily showing in his eyes, "I'm ok with it. It was something she had to do… I trust Sam. She wouldn't have hurt a living thing."

Cam nodded as he watched the Archaeologist, and he asked, "How're you doing?"

Daniel looked back at him quizzically, and Cam continued, "You and Sam. Things going ok? They look like they are, but I don't know – you guys might have become good actors without us knowing it. Weirder things have happened."

Daniel replied with a sigh, "They're good – a lot better than they've been since I came back. How are you and Vala doing?"

Cam said with a small smile, running a hand down the back of his head and down to his neck, "We're thinking of having another one... you know, just so Francis isn't by himself. Vala wants a little girl, but I'm having bad feelings about that."

Daniel smiled slightly, and the southern Colonel continued, "But it'll be cool… and the Jackson Five are gonna get an extra cousin-slash-playmate."

"Good luck with that. Wow, our kids aren't going to be lonely."

"In your house for sure. You'll be doing Cheaper by the Dozen soon."

Daniel exhaled and said, smiling slightly, "Oh, heck no… What we have is enough. We might adopt when Grace is a little older."

Cam remarked with a chuckle, "You know… Sam told me once that you were considering adoption… back when Cammie and James were around two when that whole thing with Adria was going on. You went on to have another three kids since then. I get the feeling Grace isn't going to be the last Carter-Jackson."

Daniel looked at him oddly and Cam smiled at him as Teal'c, Vala and Jonas joined them. Cam opened his mouth to speak, and Vala said, knowing what he was going to ask,

"Samantha's going to be here soon with Leo."

Teal'c said when Daniel looked at him, "Samantha is greatly curious as to the wellbeing of the Charmed Ones."

Daniel smiled slightly and nodded in acknowledgement as conversations began around him.

'_Sam… why can't I hear you?_'

'_Hmm? Sorry… must have switched it off by accident. I'll be with you in a minute, Daniel._'

'_If there was anything wrong with them, he'd have told you already._'

'_I'm just so damn curious… Hey, did you know Piper's pregnant?_'

'_I do now._'

He looked up in time to see Sam appear in the doorway with Leo, the Colonel briefly smirking in his direction. The rest of SG-1 got to their feet and Sam gestured for them to sit before she too sat down, Leo to her left as they discussed what had happened.

Daniel said, looking a little tired, "Well, it would appear that we already created an alternate timeline, but we had to do it all over again otherwise there would have been an alternate _alternate _timeline… which would have been messy."

Cam remarked, throwing him a sceptical glance, "An alternate timeline of an alternate timeline?"

Vala shrugged and retorted with a small grin, "Why not?"

Leo said with thoughtful expression, "Who knows what would have happened had Doctor Jackson…" He glanced at Daniel and continued, "Sorry… the older Doctor Jackson… who knows what would have happened had he read the writings… It would have changed everything."

They all nodded in agreement, and Sam said with a sigh as she looked at the table briefly, "I just had this indescribable urge to destroy the temple…" She looked at Daniel and then Jonas, "We're going to have to go back well before then to read that writing. I think there was something else that we missed, something quite possibly incredibly vital."

Jonas raised his hand for a moment and when everyone looked at him, he said, "Ah… well, I have a video I took. I did test it out and it does work, which is, ah, interesting to say the least…" He looked at Daniel. "If you don't mind, we could look at it together. I don't have much experience with Goa'uld or Ancient Egyptian… and you've got a deeper understanding of both."

Daniel nodded and replied, glancing at his watch, "I'd be happy to. How does tomorrow sound?"

Sam smiled slightly, remarking silently, '_There was I thinking that I'd have to force you out, but you're going of your own accord._'

'_I'm ridiculously tired, Sam… it's been a long day._'

'_Ah, yes… me too. I'm not sure how much it's from you though, but… ok, censor that._'

'_You're censoring your thoughts!?!_'

'_It's irresponsible right now, believe me._'

Sam sighed and said, "Ok, if anyone doesn't have anything else…"

She looked around at everyone, and when no-one said anything, she continued, standing up and they all followed suit, "Dismissed."


	21. Wedding, Loving, and a Talk

Sam and Cam sat with their children in between them, Grace in her lap, at the front row of a small Church; Hayes' successor, President McAndrews; Uncle George, Landry and Kim, Carolyn, Cassie, the full compliment of SG-1, Colonel Paul Davis, Walter, Siler, and Carson and McKay gathered together for what Jonas had wryly referred to as the wedding of the year. Daniel stood at Jack's side as best man, the former wearing a tuxedo, the latter his blue Air Force dress uniform. On the other side of Sam sat Teal'c with Ish'ta, Jack having managed to persuade the Jaffa to bring the female warrior along.

Sam smiled slightly as she heard Ish'ta ask quietly, albeit impatiently, "What is transpiring? Where is O'Neill's Sim'ka?"

She felt Daniel smile too, and Teal'c replied, his voice emotionless, "I have informed you of the transpirations that must occur presently. O'Neill must wait for his Sim'ka. SaraPhelpsO'Neill will arrive soon, escorted by her father, as per tradition in this region of the Tau'ri world."

"I do not wish to wait here this long."

"You have no choice in the matter…"

Sam looked over at Cam, who was barely able to keep a straight face, and he struggled even more on seeing the twinkle in his CO's eye.

'_Honey, that's not fair on Mitchell.'_

'_I know… I can't help it. It's too funny._'

'_That it is._'

Jake and Claire began to squeal when James tickled them, and then Francis joined in, laughing louder than the others, and everyone turned to look at them, chuckling. Before Sam could admonish her eldest son, Cammie began to pout and she said, shooting James an evil glare,

"'top it, James. Mommy said we had to be good."

Sam gently smoothed Cammie's hair as she leaned her head on her mother's arm, looking a little weary at the wait. James poked his tongue out at her and then grinned up at Cam when the southern Colonel remarked, picking up the little boy,

"You're a sneaky little troublemaker like your Daddy, aren't you?"

'_I wonder if he means you, Sam._'

'_I'm not sure we want to confuse the poor boy just yet. It's going to be like that joke about the Egyptian boy being confused because his Daddy was a Mommy._'

'_Oh, that joke is so old._'

'_It would be for you, Egyptology boy._'

Cam looked across at Sam and asked, looking at Cammie, "Hey, you want me to pick my little surrogate niece up? She looks pretty glum."

Sam remarked with a smile as she helped Cammie to stand so she could walk over to Cam, "She's more like fifteen than five sometimes."

'_And you're more like nearly fifty-seven than nearly forty-seven._'

'_I'd kill you but you'd come back, so… don't think you're going to get certain things so easily when we get home._

'_Ah… the perils of sleeping with my crazy CO_'… _you're just out to get me._'

'_Uh… no, the opposite if I'm making you suffer._'

'_Spoilsport._'

Cam lifted a glum Cammie as he and Vala grinned up at the little girl, James pouting silently. The southern Colonel said,

"Hey, Cameron… what's up with you?"

Cammie whined tiredly, "Tired… an' Grace's with Mommy."

Sam asked Cam, "Do you want to swap babies?"

Cam remarked with a chuckle, "You know, that was one of the questions that I'd never thought you'd ask me when I came to the mountain."

Grace began to whimper and was about to bawl her eyes out, but Cam bounced her gently and said, rubbing her back as Vala smoothed her cheek, "Hey, none of that out of you, young lady. Uncle Jack's going to get a headache before his wedding night."

The adults in his vicinity chuckled as Jack turned around and retorted, an eyebrow raised, "And none of that out of you, young man."

Daniel nudged the General and remarked with a cheeky grin, "Only because it's true, Jack."

'_Look who's the nymphomaniac now._'

'_Takes one to know one._'

'_How mature._'

'_Says the woman who pokes her tongue out as a form of verbal retaliation._'

Jack glared at his best man, muttering, "Traitor," as Cammie curled up on her mother's lap and leaned her head on her shoulder as she watched her brothers, sisters and cousin drowsily.

When the two men turned back to the front, Daniel said with a little smile, "You know, you've been dancing around this day for almost four years now."

Jack exhaled and said, rubbing his neck as he turned his head to one side for a moment, "Oh, more than that, Space Monkey; a lot more. Fifteen years. I should have done this a long time ago, but I guess we weren't ready for it."

"Or it was just you who wasn't ready."

Jack grimaced. "True."

"You could have invited a lot more people."

Jack shook his head slightly. "Nope. These are all the people we care about most in the world. It's a good thing that Mike's here, because the Phelps side is looking a little sparse."

"Well, you did send the official invitations out at short notice."

"Well, you see, we didn't want to jinx it. I swear, she thinks like me, despite my thinking being changed by SG-1 and everything else."

Daniel remarked with a slow raise of his eyebrows, "It's just as well you got special dispensation to tell her the truth about what you've been doing all this time."

"Yeah, that was cool. Sara's full of questions, but to give the woman credit, she didn't freak on me. She took it relatively in her stride."

Daniel smiled slightly. "She's nonchalant, just like you are. Are you sure you aren't related?"

"That would be sick, Daniel. Definitely not going through all that crap that you and Carter went through. How're you doing anyway?"

"Fine, just fine… well, more than fine to tell the truth. Things are good."

"Good. That's good to hear. I get worried about you from time-to-time. You two did all that for Earth, sacrificing your lives… you really do have some catching up to do with all this family stuff and everything."

'_Oh, he doesn't know the half of it, Jackson._'

'_Saaam!_'

'_What?! He can't hear us. He's too busy thinking about Sara to notice you zoning out a little to chat to me. I don't know why you're embarrassed… it's just us. Hmm, I wonder how long it's going to take to get the monster squadron to sleep tonight._'

'_I don't think it's going to be long… they'll all be zonked by the first dance. And anyway, I thought…_'

Sam smiled slightly as she smoothed Cammie's hair. '_You're surprisingly oblivious for a psychic and an empath._'

--------------------

Sara, in a simple creamy white dress that fell to the floor, stood in the doorway of the Church, on the arm of her ageing father. His posture bowed by a longstanding set of illnesses as well as age, he smiled at his daughter as the wedding march began to play. As they slowly made their way down the aisle, the heads of the small party turning around to look at her, Mike asked his daughter,

"Are you happy?"

Sara replied with a slow smile, "Yes, Dad. We've come so far."

"I know, sweetheart. I was just making sure. Jack has come a long way since that bad time."

Sara's smile faded as she remembered the various people who couldn't be there – her late mother, her sister who had got the invitation too late… Charlie. Suddenly, she felt an odd tingle and she smiled slightly, whispering quietly as tears pricked her eyes,

"Charlie."

She felt a sudden yet slowly spreading warm feeling inside herself in reply, and she felt a little bolder in her step as she reached Jack. When Mike stood to one side, having given his daughter's hand, for the second time in one lifetime, to Jack, Sara whispered,

"Jack."

Jack lowered his head so her lips were closer to his ear, and she whispered, "I can feel him, Jack. I can feel Charlie."

Jack held her hands tighter and replied, the mirth gone from his eyes and face as his eyes revealed his tumultuous emotions for a long moment, "I can too. Our little boy's here."

As the Irish priest looked ready to start, Jack continued, overwhelming age-old regret in his eyes, "I'm sorry, Sara. I'm so sorry."

Before they both looked to the priest, Sara squeezed his hands in reply and said softly, tears in her eyes, "Jack, it was never your fault. It was an accident. We've moved past that now. We're going to be ok."

--------------------

During the couple's first dance, as five Carter-Jackson and Mitchell children lay asleep at the side, Sam sat next to Daniel after their dance, leaning her head on his shoulder as he held a dozing Grace, and she whispered with a smile as she watched Jack and Sara,

"It's so great to see them so happy for once, especially the General."

Daniel smiled as he turned slightly to kiss Sam's cheek, replying with a happy sigh, "It sure is. I can't remember him smiling that much. Brings back the memories, doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah. I can't believe we've been married three years already. How time flies."

"Yep… especially when we're having fun."

Grace began to whimper and Daniel gently stroked her cheek, whispering, "Sshh, Gracie, you can't keep hogging Mommy. Daddy wouldn't mind some time with her too."

He kissed the top of Grace's head, pacifying the youngest Carter-Jackson, and Sam said with a sigh, remembering everything that had happened, "I wonder how it's going to play out… the Billy the Kid thing, I mean. We've still got to question Leo a little more to ascertain precisely what his role was."

"Oh, I have no doubt we'll get there, Sam. Come on, you're on leave and you're thinking about work."

"Look who's talking."

As Grace squealed with laughter, clapping along to the music, the Jacksons smiled, and Sam said, "Well… it is a lot to take in. Each time we think we'll get a relatively normal life, something crazy pops up."

He gently leaned his head against hers and replied, "Well… that's because our lives are so inextricably bound to the mountain… and to tell the truth, they're always going to be. We can't quit permanently… Jack was right in one way, that we wouldn't do too well if we did completely resign."

"Yeah. Oh, this is going to be fun… we'll manage it though, won't we?"

He nodded, replying, "We always seem to."

They watched Cam and Vala leave the dance floor together, with Cassie and Uncle George, Carolyn and Jonas, and Teal'c and Ish'ta. Just then Carson approached them, sitting down on a nearby chair, and after the greetings, Sam asked with a smile,

"So… what names are you going for?"

Carson leaned back in her chair with a sigh and she remarked in exasperation, "It's never easy, is it? Rodney wants to call him Max or Albert, or call _her_ Sigourney or Amelia. I don't mind Max so much but Albert will make the poor lad sound as though he's ninety years older than he already is. Sigourney's because of his part-time crush on that damn actress. I quite like Amelia though."

Daniel asked as he and Sam smiled, "What names do you want?"

"Well… I wouldn't mind Amelia or Max… but I like Samantha." She looked at a surprised Sam and continued, "It's not sycophantic… purely. I just find it funny that the wee bairn is going be Sam Beckett-McKay."

The Jacksons chuckled, Sam remarking with a grin, "You and your Quantum Leap fixation."

"Well, he _does_ have my surname. Rodney insists that it's a name you'd give to a whale… which I don't get. The man's downright kooky most of the time."

Sam remarked, "Try _all_ of the time."

She then said, "You're going to wait for the baby before you get married?"

"Might as well… the man's not going anywhere. I just don't want it to look like we're getting married for the baby."

Daniel remarked with a little smile as he remembered how Carson once was, "This conversation seems surreal on so many levels."

--------------------

The sleeping children all fast asleep, Sam came into hers and Daniel's room to find the Archaeologist laid across their bed, looking up at the ceiling. When she entered, he moved his eyes to look at her and asked,

"You ok?"

Sam nodded as he sat up and she asked, "You?"

"Yeah. Kids asleep?"

"Out like little lamps."

She sat next to him as he held her hands, and he said with a soft smile, "I kept thinking of our day a lot during the wedding… how happy we were and how it was a long time coming. Obviously the long time thing was nothing compared to theirs, but still…"

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Well, they should be in Sydney by now… I loved Mitchell cracking that joke about the General's wedding night. It just goes to show what a great CO we had, that he can get ribbed without inflicting violence on anyone."

"Yeah."

They smiled slightly as they gazed at each other, and he stroked her cheek, saying softly, "I love you, Sam. I needed to tell you that, because yesterday in Chicago made me realise how life can just pass us by in a blink of an eye."

She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him, replying, "I love you as well, Daniel. Funnily enough, I know what you mean. I must have lived with you for way too long already if the things you say are making sense to me."

He smiled against her lips as he kissed her, replying silently, '_Same here._'

'_Hmmm… I love how we can talk like this._'

'_It's the best form of multitasking in the world._'

She pushed him down back onto the bed and gazed down at him as he reached up to play with her hair from his reclining position. She then lowered her head to continue kissing him as they each moaned. His hands worked on her t-shirt as their caresses intensified, and he whispered with a groan,

"Oh… it's been too long."

She ran her fingers through his hair, replying as she did so, "Far too long. We just have to learn to plan ahead."

He smiled against her neck and various other portions of her anatomy as they began to make love. She giggled as he cracked a dirty joke, and she remarked with a grin, amused at his embarrassed features,

"I love how you make dirty remarks and still blush. It's cute."

He grabbed her and she shrieked with laughter, and groaned, as he resumed his caresses and kisses, all the while feeling her feelings and sensations as she felt his own. He suddenly looked down at her and asked, stroking her cheek,

"Sam?"

Sensing something odd, she looked back up at him and asked, frowning slightly, "What is it?"

He looked away from her for a moment and then back at her again, saying, "Do you want to try for another one when Grace is old enough? I guess it would be nice to have one that we actually intended to have."

Looking uncertain, she said, "Daniel… it's… well, for one, Grace is only four months old now…"

"Well, I did say when she's older."

"And then there's my age. It's way too risky. I'm forty-seven next month. I know it was risky having the last four, but it's even more risky now, and I'm not sure even our Ancient abilities are going to help us out. I don't think I can go through losing a child like Vala did."

He gazed at her tenderly as tears filled her eyes and she turned her head away. He dried her eyes and said softly,

"You won't lose a baby, Sam, believe me."

His voice broke with emotion as he continued, feeling her pain as well as his own, "I won't let it happen. God knows I sent you and the youngest twins to your death when I let you go to Atlantis… I'm not going to let our next one go."

She reached up to smooth his brow and said, "Daniel, it's way too early, and by the time it'll be ok, it'll be too late."

Getting a flash of inspiration, he asked, "How about if I have it for you? I've done it once before… We could go back to Hippolyta's planet for that… compound. We'll be safer now because we can defend ourselves a lot better. They won't know what's hit them. Think about it, that could change the whole…"

Still lying beneath him, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and whispered in his ear as she stroked the hair around it, "No, Daniel… I don't want you to go through that again. It took a lot out of you the last time… and I don't think I can watch you in so much pain and discomfort."

He rested his head in the crook of her neck, stroking her collarbone as he said, "I'm doing it for you, Sam. I'd do anything for you."

"I know that… but I don't want you to. Our little Monster brigade is enough. I think we should enjoy being with them some more. Cammie and James are going to start Kindergarten in next September. No matter how much time I have to get used to it, I still think it's too soon. The house is going to feel empty without them barging about."

He smiled against her neck as he said, "I love tea parties with Cammie… I'll miss having them so much when she and Junior start school."

She remarked with a chuckle as she looked up at him, stroking the back of his neck, "You've got three daughters, Jackson – you're going to get your fair share of them, especially if certain Atlantis personnel keep dropping by with tea sets."

"Well, it's better than getting a block to your forehead, believe me… I never knew five year olds could throw that hard."

She grimaced a little and then laughed, asking as she smoothed a red spot of his brow, "Is it still sore? I can't feel it."

"No… it feels a lot better now. James must have something against his old Mom."

"It's usually Cammie doing the throwing."

"She's aggressive and crazy just like her Mommy."

She laughed out loud, and then said with a sigh, "I can't wait for us to have a decent life… you know, when all of this craziness stop."

His smile faded as he said solemnly, "I don't think the craziness is going to go away, Sam. It's a part of our lives. We'll just have to take that into consideration and enjoy what we have."

She stretched up to kiss him, replying as she smoothed his shoulder, "Considering everything, what we have is a huge blessing."

"Or a million little ones."


	22. Filling In

_The poem featured is an English translation to a Greek one by C.P. Cavafy, called 'Ithaka'._

_--------------------_

"Well… the Others saw to it that Pat Garrett couldn't continue his campaign of terror. After ascending me, they stopped him."

Sam asked, sitting across the table from Leo in the Interrogation room with Cam sat behind the glass watching them, "But what about the non-interference rule that would have still in place back then?"

Leo replied with a sigh, running his fingers through his hair, "You know they broke it when it suited them, and it did... in fact, it suited the entire Universe too. What you have within you is a power that no other mortal can or should possess on this plain of existence… it's just physically impossible… or it would be for anyone else. You think the heart of the TARDIS is powerful… the Star of Ma'at is so much more than that. And it wasn't an accident. If your father-in-law hadn't given the stone to your mother on that day in 1965, it would have come to you some other way."

Sam, feeling uneasy as she remembered the Doctor telling her that the search for the stone had caused wars, asked, "What precisely is the Star of Ma'at? Where did it come from?"

He watched her for a long moment and then said with a small smile, "Legend has it that within it lies the first ever Ancient, the first human to ascend to the next plain of existence."

Confused, she asked, "Lilith?"

He shook his head and replied, "No, Lilith didn't get her focus until much later. No-one knows this Ancient's name or who he or she was. We just know that whoever it was, they were very powerful, and no other Ancient since has reached that level of power… except for Daniel of course, but that's a different story."

She nodded, intrigued as he continued, "I was meant to guard the Star, to prevent it from being tracked down. For millennia it was a stone that could bring great power to its owner, the stuff of legends. The Others created the myth to protect it. The Ori suspected that Daniel was a lot more than he appeared to be, and if they'd known about him, they would have killed him. They wouldn't have been able to tap in his power but he would have been far too dangerous to them alive."

His expression grew in sobriety as he gazed at her. "If they'd known the truth, the full truth, the Universe would have been in grave danger. The Others always knew who you were, who you were destined to be, but you had to fight the fight to be worthy of that."

She asked, worried, "What if we hadn't succeeded?"

He smiled slightly. "There was no question or doubt about it. The fact that you, in this Universe, brought an end to the Ori, makes this Universe very, very special indeed. You cannot truly comprehend how important and powerful you and Daniel are, and your children too."

He changed the subject. "Did Daniel and Jonas discover anything from the footage of the walls?"

She shook her head and replied with a shrug, "No… it was all pretty much what Daniel had read from the walls. The rest of the answers must be the next few stretches of this voyage."

He smiled and said, leaning forward, his eyes earnest, "Sam… you will find the answers, but don't let the journey pass you by. You will see, do and learn so much more than you've already done. It really is going to be an enriching experience for you, for everyone… this journey is far from over."

She smiled back at him and said, remembering a poem Daniel had shared with her a few times,

"_Keep Ithaka always in your mind.  
Arriving there is what you are destined for.  
But do not hurry the journey at all._

_  
Better if it lasts for years,  
so you are old by the time you reach the island,  
wealthy with all you have gained on the way…_"

He remarked with an easy smile, "Daniel sure likes his poetry. You wouldn't believe how many poems he quoted when he was with us."

She smiled knowingly, a hint of sadness in her eyes on remembering Daniel's second time as an Ascended being, and he said after a moment, sighing softly, "Well… Colonel, I think my time's up."

She frowned in confusion and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I've got to leave you now. I don't know whether we'll see each other again, but I'll always be watching over you."

She felt something odd and she quickly grabbed his hand as he closed his eyes, and she asked, looking sad, "Do you have to go now?"

He smiled wistfully and replied as he held the hand that held his with his other one, "Yes. It's one of those path things. If it was my choice, I'd stay. It certainly has been interesting getting to know you, and to be with you as you discovered more about who you are."

"Aren't you going to say goodbye to everyone else?"

He shook his head and said, "They need me at the School, Colonel. You remember when I told you about the school I run?"

"The one where you teach children with a stronger variant of the Ancient gene to manage their various paranormal abilities?"

He smiled slightly and she continued, worried, "The Trust could take an unhealthy interest in it."

She glanced up and noticed that Cam was looking at them both weirdly, and Leo smiled, replying, "That's why the last half of this conversation has been in Ancient. You haven't realised that you've slipped into Ancient."

Confused, she asked, "I can speak Ancient?"

"Of course you can… but you have no control over it. You weren't Ascended long enough to be able to read it though. Didn't you ever wonder why you didn't start speaking Ancient randomly when you first got your powers like Daniel did?"

When she looked even more confused, he said with a smile, "Oh… so much more to figure out."

She got to her feet and asked as he followed suit, "We're speaking English now aren't we?"

He nodded, amused as he replied, "We sure are Colonel."

He smiled as he gazed at her and remarked softly, "If I wasn't happily married already, I would give Daniel a run for his money."

She looked down at her feet in embarrassment for a moment as he reddened, and she said, shaking hands with him, "It was really great having you around. Thank you."

"Oh… I just dropped in for the ride, Colonel – you did everything else."

They hugged as the rest of SG-1 gathered around Cam, and Leo smiled softly as he gazed at Sam, the Ancient bathed in bluish-white light as he slowly faded from view. Sam looked at where he had been for a long moment, feeling sad at another quickly made friend dropping out of her life, and then she looked up at the window to see the rest of her team. They all watched her, not in confusion, but in varying shades of sympathy. She turned towards the door and, as she walked out, she felt a growing warmth inside her and she whispered silently,

'_Thanks, Daniel._'

'_You need it… and we're on duty._'

--------------------

_Ok, folks… seeing as the Ancients, especially in the Jackson Junior series, represent or assume the roles of characters from Earth's mythology, who do you think should be the unknown Ancient mentioned here as being incorporated into the Star of Ma'at?_


	23. Birthday Dinner, and Family

Sam, Daniel, SG-1, Carolyn, Jack, Sara, the Carter-Jackson children, Francis, mini-Jack, Cassie, McKay and Carson all sat at the dining table at the Carter-Jackson residence, having dinner as part of the celebrations for the Colonel's forty-seventh birthday. Various conversations going on around her and with her, Sam looked down at her lap when she heard a squeal, to see Grace clapping as Teal'c tickled her stomach.

Jack remarked with smirk as Sara smirked too, "Oh… come on T, we really need to know now why you and Ish'ta haven't moved forwards yet."

Teal'c replied, his voice emotionless, "I believe you know the reason, O'Neill. Ish'ta does not wish to co-operate with me."

Daniel said, patting him on the shoulder and gazing at his wife for a moment with a little smile, "It's a two way thing, Teal'c – believe me."

'_Oh… so you co-operate with me, do you?_'

'_Diplomacy 101 – always do what the crazy woman says, especially if you've married her._'

'_Ooh, you're pushing it Jackson._'

'_And you love me for it._'

'_Dammit, you saw right through me._'

'_Funny thing about being psychic…_'

Jack and Sara smirked as mini-Jack remarked facetiously, "Ah, yet another insight into how things run so smoothly around here. I was beginning to wonder how Carter doesn't kill you on a regular basis. God knows I'd do it if I had to live with ya everyday."

'_So Jackson… will that diplomacy work if Sara finds out just who mini-Jack really is?_'

'_Now __**that**__ is pushing it, Colonel… I don't think it's a good idea. Big-Jack's happy for once._'

'_True._'

Jack retorted, "Now, now young man, that was harsh on Space Monkey."

Mini-Jack's eyes softened briefly as he watched Sara for a moment, and he replied quietly with a sigh, "Yeah, whatever."

Sara looked at the younger man oddly as Jack looked down at the table. Sam looked at Daniel, worry in her eyes, and he was about to speak to break the sudden silence when Cassie said bouncily, having the same idea,

"Oh this is great, fighting it out over a dinner table."

She looked at Vala, the younger woman having come a long way emotionally to have a blossoming friendship with the SG-1 member, and the dark-haired alien said with a matching mischievous smile, "It's always nice for us women to watch… especially when it gets physical… but it's Samantha's birthday and there are children present. I'm sure no-one came to have a fight."

Cam smiled slightly at his wife, patting her knee under the table, and Vala continued, looking straight at the Jacks and sticking to the cover story for the two men, "Now… uncle and nephew, shake hands."

Chuckles erupted around the table, and the Jacks looked at her, stunned. Vala exhaled and raised an eyebrow, saying with a hint of sternness,

"I didn't say _not_ to shake hands, boys."

Cam remarked as he feigned innocence, "Hoo boy, believe me, you don't want to ignore that."

'_Vala's a good Mom._'

'_She'd have to be… especially if they have another little hellion._'

'_Oh Daniel… Francis is just like a little version of Cam._'

'_Exactly._'

Sam smiled slightly as she looked down at Grace, and Teal'c said, "O'Neill, it would be advisable to do as ValaMalDoranMitchell has instructed otherwise you will not have a pleasurable dining experience."

Everyone else but the Jacks laughed, and Sara remarked with a little smile as she patted her husband's knee, "Well, I think the alien lady has spoken. Get to it."

Jonas said with a shrug, "You might as well, Jack."

The two Jacks grudgingly shook hands and Cammie said with an annoyed pout, "Naughty boys."

As laughter rippled around the table, the Jacksons gazing at each other for a moment in amusement, Carson said with a fond smile as she smoothed Cammie's hair, "Aye, they are. Blame Air Force families… terrible, terrible things."

Sam, Cam, the Jacks, Cassie and Carolyn immediately looked bewildered, and they looked at the former Atlantis CMO, Sam saying as she looked around at her fellow Air Force officers and Air Force brats, "Uh… what's wrong with Air Force families?"

As McKay smiled into his drink, Carson replied, smirking ever so slightly, "Well, they have the biggest egos… and they're all control freaks."

Jack remarked with a dismissive gesture, "You're just jealous, Arnie."

Carson shot him a dirty look, and Sara said with a sigh as she looked at the Jacks, using a different name for mini-Jack, "I don't know why you guys keep sniping at each other. It isn't nice. Most uncle and nephew relationships wouldn't be so acrimonious… Jon, what could your uncle have done to you to make you that bitter?"

'_Ooh, I dare him to say that the General stole his wife… that's going to weird her out._'

'_Jack's going to be sleeping on the couch for many a night to come from now on. I hope mini-Jack doesn't cause a storm._'

Jack looked at mini-Jack, who said with a shrug, "Nothing I guess. I just don't like him."

'_Typical Jack._'

Sara remarked with a little smile as she looked up at Jack, "You sound just like your uncle."

Mini-Jack carefully shrouded his facial features and then turned, almost at breakneck speed, to Sam and asked, getting up, "Carter, may I be excused?"

Worried, Sam asked, "Jack, are you ok?"

Not looking at anyone else, the younger man replied quickly as he left the house through the backdoor, "I'm fine. Just need some fresh air."

Sam looked worriedly at Daniel, and Sara asked, about to get up, "Should I talk to him?"

Sam shook her head and looked at Daniel again, who said, getting up, "I'll do it."

'_I hope he's going to be alright._'

'_He's just got to work through it. It's unfortunate that it's got to be like this though._'

The Archaeologist stooped to kiss his wife and smoothed Grace's head as Sara nudged Jack in the ribs and hissed, "He's _your_ nephew."

Daniel, catching the words, said, "It's ok… Jack and tact don't go together."

Sara smiled knowingly. "Good point."

When Jake began to stand up in his seat to cling onto his father, Daniel picked the toddler up in his arms, saying with a little smile as he walked out of the backdoor, "Come on, Jakey… let's go work our magic."

'_Honey…_'

'_It'll be alright, Sam._'

'_I was just going to say that I'm here if you need me._'

'_Thanks. I'll give you a call if it gets ugly._'

'_It's nice to be needed as your personal death squad._'

--------------------

Mini-Jack, after storming around the back deck briefly, sat down on the edge of it, holding his head in his hands. He felt that he could identify on some level with what Daniel had gone through with Sha're, although what was worse to him was that he wasn't really Sara's husband.

A few moments later, his Special Forces trained instincts flared, and he turned quickly, only to see Daniel with Jake in his arms. Oh great, the younger man thought, Pop Psych 101. He remarked, exasperated,

"Dannyboy, just leave it. I don't need you to pretend you understand. Ok, you might… but I just need to be alone."

Daniel sighed and sat down next to the younger man, Jake leaning his head on his father's shoulder. He said softly, his eyes full of pain and regret as he blocked his mental connection to Sam, his fingers gently stroking his son's hair,

"I know it's hard, Jack, seeing your wife with someone else. You… well, in your case, you're just going to have to learn to live with it. She doesn't know who you are, and if she did… Just how much more are you going to put her through?"

Mini-Jack turned to look at Daniel, pain etched in his face and making him look much older than his physical age, "I still feel the pain, Daniel. It was my fault Charlie's gone and I never got to tell Sara anything. I need her. She's so close but I can't touch her, I can't kiss her… and she doesn't even know who I am."

His eyes now anguished, mini-Jack asked Daniel, "How did you get through everything with Sha're? How did you cope?"

As Jake began to doze off on his father's shoulder, Daniel replied with a sigh, gazing down at his sleeping son, "I didn't. I didn't do very well. That's why things were getting bad before I ascended the first time. I lost her and I couldn't do anything about it. I…"

His voice broke. "… I looked for her for three years in the end only for Teal'c to kill her. _That _took a lot of working through too. Fortunately I wasn't too far gone to understand that he had to do that otherwise Amaunet might have blown out my mind with that hand device."

Mini-Jack said, "You must have got through it somehow… I mean, you're married and…"

Daniel shook his head. "No. I still have the nightmares. You remember the ones where Sha're blames me for not saving her, or the ones where I have to watch that…" He looked down at the child in his arms and moderated his language accordingly, "_basket case_ touch her. Sometimes, I have ones where Sam's in Sha're's place."

Mini-Jack watched his best friend, finally understanding Daniel's pain on some level, and the Archaeologist continued, searching the younger man's eyes, "Jack, I don't want you to hang onto this any longer. I know it's hard… but you'll be alright. Sara's happy. I think that's what is important here. You're not Jack O'Neill. You are a completely different person. You've come so far for someone whose entire life was the Air Force and then the Stargate. Sam and I are so proud of you… our little Hockey coach."

Mini-Jack retorted belligerently, the belligerence off-set by a bit of pleasant surprise, "Great… the geeks adopted me."

Daniel smiled slightly and mini-Jack continued with a fond smile, "Well, your kids are the luckiest in the world so I don't mind… and you kept me in your life after Jack let me go."

Daniel, noticing that Jake had woken up again, hugged mini-Jack as the little boy played with the clone's hair, and he said, "You'll always be ours, Jack. If we'd been married back then, we would definitely have adopted you."

Surprised, mini-Jack asked, "You would have?"

Daniel nodded and replied with a slight smile, "We've talked about it. While you are a major, major pain in the as… butt a lot of the time, you're family."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Anytime."

Mini-Jack exhaled and said seriously, "It's not gonna be easy, Space Monkey. I don't like seeing _him_ with my wife, but I've got no choice because I'm not really me."

"No, you're you… you're just not that Jack O'Neill."

"Then I'm nothing."

"That's not true. That Jack O'Neill is a man whose life is the Air Force, Homeworld Security and the Stargate. This Jack O'Neill, on the other hand, is an up and coming Hockey coach with a vile temper but a record for getting results."

Mini-Jack looked embarrassed for once, and Daniel said, ruffling the younger man's hair affectionately, "Now young man, are we going to go back in and celebrate Sam's birthday, or are we going to get into a fight with Jack?"

---------------------

After the guests had gone, all of the children zonked from the day's festivities and in bed, Daniel made love to Sam on their bed. As his lips travelled from her ear to her shoulder, she asked silently, worried,

''_Daniel? _

'_Hmm?'_'

'_You have regular nightmares?_'

He paused and raised his head to gaze down at her worried countenance, asking aloud as he stroked her jaw, "Did mini-Jack say something?"

"No… I heard it. I can hear past a block sometimes." She stroked his brow. "Oh, Daniel… I'd rather you told me these things rather than trying to hide everything. I want to share your pain and tears as well as the rest."

He gazed down at her lovingly, pain in his eyes as he replied, "It's not fair to you to feel a pain that's not yours."

She reached up to hold his neck, her fingers slowly travelling the skin in gentle motions, and she said, her eyes earnest, "Daniel, you're forgetting one thing… your pain is my pain, no matter what. It's nothing to do with the ESP. I want to know when you're hurting… I want to share your pain." And then she remembered what he had told her so long ago when Cassie first came into their lives. "I guess what I'm trying to say is… you shouldn't have to do this alone."

He closed his eyes as tears surged in them and he rested his head on her shoulder as her fingers slowly ran through his hair. She asked, sniffing back her own tears at feeling his anguish,

"Why did you lie to me each time you had a nightmare about Sha're?"

His voice wobbling with emotion and muffled a little by her shoulder, he replied, "I didn't want you to hurt you."

Remembering a picture on the desk in what was now her office, she asked, looking at him, "Is that why you wouldn't bring that picture of Sha're home?"

He nodded, and she kissed him gently, whispering as she continued her caresses of his hair, "Daniel, I wish you'd asked me instead of assuming that I'd be jealous or bitchy. Sha're is a part of you. You can't deny or suppress a part of yourself that was in so much pain for so long. Your time on Abydos gave you the first solid family you've had since your parents. Why would I be mad or jealous?"

She closed her eyes, opening her mind to him in the process to show him that she was being honest. Surprised, he raised his head to look down at her and said, feeling as though their minds were like one clear and endless ocean of unimaginable depths,

"You're not jealous."

She shook her head and replied with a little shrug, "I guess I am sometimes… a little, because she got to know you before I knew you, before the Goa'uld. The General always says that James' cheerfulness and mischief is from me, but it isn't… it's mostly, if not all from you." She smiled fondly at him as he blushed slightly. "My cheerful optimist."

She stroked his cheek. "No more lies, Daniel. I want to know everything. Just like Teal'c and Ish'ta's co-operation is a two-way thing… this is a two-way thing too."

He softly kissed her and replied, feeling a little freer, "I promise."

They both smiled as they kissed again, her arms still around him as he lay over her. Suddenly, they heard the sound of a screaming child, and they quickly separated, Sam putting a t-shirt on as Daniel eventually wondered how his boxers ended up under the bed.

Sam got up to run out of the room when the door opened and Cammie came running in, crying her eyes out, the sounds of four more children crying behind her in their rooms. Sam swooped her up and asked as the little girl's sobs were muffled against her shoulder,

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

She quickly gestured with her head to Daniel to go check on the others as she heard the front door open downstairs, signalling Cassie's return from her nightshift at the base, and sat down on the end of the bed as Daniel left the room. Sam, disturbed at Cammie trembling, asked as she smoothed her daughter's hair and felt fear from the little girl,

"Cammie, did you just have a nightmare?"

Cammie nodded, replying between sobs, "You went and didn't come back. And Daddy went… and James and Claire and… and Jake and Grace. Everyone was gone."

"Sshh, it's ok, sweetie. It was only a nightmare. I'm still here and so is everyone else."

She dried her daughter's tears and gently kissed her forehead, whispering as she got up, still holding the girl, "Come on, let's go and help Daddy. Do you want to say 'hi' to Cassie?"

Cammie replied, mumbling tiredly as she rubbed her eye with a fist, "Ok."

They left the room and found Daniel in the younger twins' room, reading a book aloud, a grumpy looking Grace, and a drowsy looking James in his lap. She smiled on seeing how Jake and Claire looked up at Daniel, hooked on every word, and she sat next to her husband, taking Grace when he stopped reading for a moment to kiss her.

He asked, reaching over to stroke Cammie's hair, "Nightmare?"

Sam nodded and smiled as James kissed Cammie on the cheek, and as Daniel resumed reading, Sam smoothed the cheeks of the youngest twins as they smiled up at her. Grace began to cry, looking angry and Sam sat back down next to Daniel and said, touching the baby's cheek,

"I'd never forget you, Gracie."

'_She's crazy, just like you._'

'_Nope, she's fighting to be listened to, just like you._'

'_Does she have to be like me?_'

'_Well… Ancient-boy, she's your daughter._'

Sam smiled on seeing Daniel pouting ever so slightly as he continued reading, and she said, looking down at a sleeping Cammie, "Our little miracle's hungry. What is it with you Jacksons and your penchant for night feeds?"

Daniel retorted, feigning innocence, "It's an appreciation thing."

--------------------

Putting Cammie back in her bed, with Grace grizzling in her hold, Sam returned to her room as Daniel put James to bed shortly afterwards, the younger twins and Cammie fast asleep, James beginning to drop off as Cassie got ready for bed.

As Sam sat on the end of her bed, bouncing Grace in her hold, she looked up on sensing Cassie in the open doorway and asked, "Hey, how was work?"

Cassie replied as she entered, kneeling in front of Sam to look at Grace, "Not too bad. It's nice being able to learn without crises erupting every three seconds but I can't help thinking that they add to the learning experience."

"Well, it's a very hands-on job working at the mountain, especially in the Infirmary. You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm cool… a little tired. Monsters playing up again?"

Sam replied with a tired smile, kissing the top of Grace's hair when she threatened to throw a tantrum, "Yep, always. Cammie had a nightmare."

Cassie asked, worried, "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, it was nothing. She's fast asleep. The twins took a lot longer to get back to sleep though… and James was asking a million and one questions about Barbie and the Fairy Princess."

Cassie remarked, amused, "Whose idea was it to give them that?"

"Oh… Carson. She's really getting into the whole Mom thing."

"Yeah, that is weird."

Cassie cocked her head slightly for a moment and then said, getting up, "Ah… I'll leave ya. She's hungry, isn't she?"

"Oh yeah. Have you eaten?"

"I had dinner at the mountain with Carolyn a couple of hours ago. I'm fine."

"If you're hungry, I left dinner for you in the oven."

"Thanks Sam. I'm fine though."

Cassie left the room, hugging Daniel in greeting on her way to her room, and Sam began to feed Grace, the Colonel almost hearing the baby's sigh of relief. Daniel sat down next to Sam, an arm around her as he said with a slight smile,

"She's a very demanding little lady."

Sam leaned her head on Daniel's shoulder as he leaned his head against hers, and she replied, tired, "Tell me about it. At least she'll settle down after this. She's certainly giving Jake and Claire a run for their money for the highest milk consumption."

Daniel smiled in amusement, stroking Grace's stomach as the baby closed her eyes, looking totally relaxed, and he said, "That's because she works hard at screaming most of the day."

When the Colonel had finished, having rubbed Grace's back to aid the escape of trapped wind, Daniel said, taking the now satisfied looking baby from her, "Here, I'll take her."

He kissed his wife and left the room to put Grace in her own room, laying her down in her crib. She looked up at him as he stroked her cheek, and he watched with a smile as she slowly drifted off. He leaned down to kiss her and he sighed happily, feeling at peace as he left the room, carefully closing the door behind him.

He returned to his room to find Sam asleep and he got in beside her, holding her close as he whispered against her hair, caressing her back, "Family life could easily give being on SG-1 a run for its money any day."

He smiled when she shifted in her sleep and mumbled something against his chest, slowly smiling against his shoulder, and he continued, kissing her, "But on the worth scale, from one to ten, I'd put this at twenty-five."


	24. Across Time and Space, Part I

_Thanks to DementedLeaf for suggesting an Ancient to be the unnamed one mentioned two chapters back. To everyone else who thought of one but didn't say anything – you're very, very naughty. lol._

_--------------------_

Why don't we just go back to when we won't be disturbed?"

Jonas was almost bouncing up and down in his seat at the briefing table as everyone else took in Cam's words, and he said, looking optimistic, "If we go back to after the Rebellion, we could use the Daniel from the original timeline."

Everyone looked at him, stunned at the prospect, and Cam remarked, glaring at him, "You've been dying to do that since you read that report, haven't you?"

Jonas nodded and said, confused, "Of course… weren't you? It's… neither of us or Vala knew Daniel at that point in the history of SG-1."

"Years full of adventures, and Jonas Quinn finds the one point of particular historical interest."

Jonas smiled slightly as Daniel looked down at the table in embarrassment, and Sam said with a sigh, worried, "I don't think it's going to be practical. It's way too risky. If we go back too early, we could affect how the Rebellion goes… as hard as it's going to be, we're going to have to let our other selves die." She exhaled. "If on the off chance we manage to get to after the Rebellion, there's the chance that we could change anything, the smallest of things, which could be detrimental to the present and of course, the future. It could mean some of us not being at all, or not getting married to our current spouses… it could even mean our children not being born. I don't think that I, personally, could go through with it, knowing just what could change. There is too much at stake"

Cam let out a long breath and said, "It's a long shot, I'll admit, but if we just went back as observers using your spidey senses, we could get in and out without being seen."

Jonas asked, "Ah, but what if the Star recognises Sam again?"

Daniel replied with a shrug, "But should anyone else be there, they wouldn't see it. I think it was in a dimension possibly 180 degrees from ours, like the Reetou. It would explain why we can't be seen in our temporal excursions if we were subject to the same principle."

Sam nodded, smiling slightly, and Vala said, looking thoughtful, "Well… I don't see the problem if we're all going to be invisible again. I think it could be interesting."

Sam noticed out the corner of her eye that Vala had reached for Cam's hand, the southern Colonel squeezing it at his side, and she sighed silently as Jonas went through the possibilities.

'_I'm not too confident about this, Daniel… what if we come back, and our babies aren't here any more? I'm supposed to be detached, but that would be way past pushing it._'

'_It might be a good idea to have just a couple of people there to limit the damage._'

'_We're not a team for nothing. We'll need Teal'c for protection, you and Jonas for the Archaeology and translations, me for any technology encountered and of course to get you there. Ok… so, the minimum we'd need is you, me and Teal'c._'

Sam raised a hand to cut Jonas off mid-flow, and she said aloud, "We're going to have to keep this to essential personnel only. I'm going to need as much power as possible to go that far back, and at the right time too. It was relatively ok for the 60's, but we're talking of in excess of five thousand years ago."

Cam asked, "Who do you have in mind?"

"Well, Teal'c on defence, Jackson on Archaeology and translations… and me on technology."

"You're not going in without back-up."

Jonas raised his hand and said, "And you might need some help with translations."

Vala added, looking hopeful, "And let's not forget that six pairs of hands are better than three. We're all going, Samantha. As my rather dashing life partner would say... if we screw up, we screw up together."

Cam smiled briefly as Sam nodded, biting her lip in contemplation and worry, and she asked Teal'c, "Teal'c, what do you think?"

Everyone else looked at Teal'c too as the Jaffa replied, his face stoic, "I believe it to be wise to travel as a team should we unexpectedly come under attack. We may need to create a record, like our original selves, of the present timeline in the event of modification."

--------------------

The six members of SG-1, dressed in desert camouflage with zinc oxide coating their noses, stood in the middle of an endless sea of sand, stretching out as far as the eye could see, the hot sun beating down upon them. Cam remarked as they looked around themselves,

"Well, we can safely say we're not in Kansas any more."

Jonas said, distractedly, looking around himself, "Or in an alternate version of Kansas at least..."

Vala said, "I hate to bring our little desert party down, but how do we know where we are or even _when_ we are?"

Sam looked around herself and then suddenly closed her eyes. The others looked at her in concern, Teal'c saying as he squeezed her forearm, "ColonelJackson."

She looked straight at him and said, tears in her eyes, "We're dead. I felt an echo of something that's already happened."

Teal'c looked perturbed as the others except for Daniel looked bewildered, and the Archaeologist touched his wife's shoulder and asked, worried, "What did you see?"

She turned to look at him and said as she began to see past him, "Teal'c shot you because you were a Goa'uld spy. You're dead but you're not dead. The Rebellion's already happened – the Goa'uld are gone, and everyone is dead except for you."

He smoothed her shoulder, chilled to the bone on hearing her words, and Cam asked, worried as he noticed Sam tremble ever so slightly, "Colonel, you ok?"

Sam took a deep breath to steady herself and replied, regaining her composure, "Yes… I'm fine. That just knocked me sideways."

She looked around at her team and then said, readying her P-90 as she walked in a seemingly random direction, "This way, folks."

Teal'c brought up the rear as Vala walked with Jonas, behind Cam and Daniel, and the southern Colonel said quietly, "I'm worried."

Daniel patted his shoulder and said in the same volume, "She'll be fine."

"That's only part of what I'm worried about. What if there are some Goa'uld still hanging about and we get executed? What if we do change the timeline?"

Daniel watched his wife a few feet in front of them, and he replied, muted regret in his eyes as he contemplated for the countless time the endless possibilities, "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

--------------------

The team came to a stop at a huge rocky ledge overlooking a bustling Egyptian village. As they watched, they could see the natives in sand and Earth coloured robes going about their daily business, women cooking in the open air, and small children playing games with sticks and animal bones.

Daniel watched with an inaudible sigh, reminded so much of Abydos. He closed his eyes and could see the Abydonian children playing under the midday sun and being scolded by their mothers, Sha're and her cousin giggling in whispers, Skaara and he hunting. He opened his eyes when he felt Sam's hand on his shoulder and he looked at her as she asked, sensing his thoughts,

"You ok?"

He nodded and replied silently as his gaze moved back to the village, '_It's so much like Abydos._'

'_I know… I can see some of your memories. I wish I'd gone on that first mission._'

'_You know… if this doesn't work out, if we change the slightest thing, we might never be able to go back… and who knows what an alternate future could hold?_'

'_Which is why we're going to pull this off._'

She looked around at the rest of the team and said, walking down a path leading down into the village below and straightening her hat, "Let's go meet the locals… or not."

They followed her down the sandy path, some of them struggling in the sand and almost falling headlong into the valley below, and Jonas said, "This doesn't look like Deir-el-Medina."

Sighting a pyramid in the distance, he said, surprised as they reached the bottom of the cliff, "Oh my… this looks like the, ah, Giza plateau."

Sam replied, "We're here for a reason. I think we could meet Daniel after all. Let's split up – radio if you get into a jam. Quinn and Jackson, you're with Mitchell. Mitchell Two and Teal'c, you're with me. Let's move out."

They nodded in acquiescence and duly split up into two teams before taking two different sides of the village.


	25. Across Time and Space Part II

_Thanks to Entropic Cascade for quite possibly suggesting Noah. lol. : D Thanks!_

_--------------------_

As her team entered the village from their side, Sam said, worried as she kept her P-90 readied for the first sign of trouble, "It doesn't look like they can see us. I don't know why I get worried about that."

Teal'c said, swinging his staff weapon around in response to being run through by three local children, "It is prudent to expect the unexpected."

Vala remarked, smiling at some bickering children who couldn't see her, "If you keep expecting it, it won't happen… What are we looking for?"

Sam shrugged and replied, sounding almost helpless, "I don't know… but we know from past experience that the places we end up in are not accidental."

"Ah-ha, good point. Do you… have any idea why we're not where we found the pretty little stone?"

"Nope."

"Ah. Ok. Might I enquire as to where the legendary tape was found?"

Sam looked at Teal'c, who replied with a raised eyebrow, "In the vicinity of the Giza plateau."

"Right! So… Oh. I think this Daniel knows me then."

When they looked at her in confusion, she continued with a shrug, "Oh, we go way back. There was a little matter of the Prometheus."

Sam remarked with a little smile, shaking her head in disbelief as they carried on walking, "I don't think he'll be happy to see you in that case. He was grumpy about that for ages."

Glancing at a smirking Teal'c, Vala asked, surprised, "He was?"

Sam smiled as she heard Daniel mentally rant in her head. "Oh yeah."

--------------------

Cam remarked, looking around as they walked into the village, smiling, "Oh, this is good… just us boys. You two doing ok?"

Daniel smiled slightly as he looked at Jonas, who replied, running a hand through his cropped dark blond hair, "Fine, I guess. A little stressed."

Daniel added with a raise of his eyebrows, "Oh yeah."

Cam said, exhaling as he tipped his hat at a woman who looked straight past him, "Yeah… about that. This is gonna work out. I mean, you guys have crazy powers on this time travel adventure so maybe we could go back… just like we've done before."

Daniel replied, "Right. This is the same as 1965."

"You know, I'm somewhat… no, wait, considerably disturbed that you had to reassure yourself."

Jonas remarked, "Well… it isn't, ah, omnipotence or omniscience. The guy's only human."

Daniel smiled slightly as he surveyed his surroundings, and Cam said, "Which is a good thing." He looked at Daniel, "Jackson, any idea why your crazy wife brought us here?"

Daniel replied, "No idea, but despite being insane in the membrane, each time Sam's taken us back, it's been for a reason."

"You're not saying that 'cos you married her and she could very easily kick your butt… right?"

'_Choose the wrong answer and say sayonara to little Daniel._'

Daniel cleared his throat in embarrassment, trying to be discreet but Cam guffawed on noticing his reaction, Jonas too, and the southern Colonel said, "Hey Sam, how's it going?"

Daniel closed his eyes and then opened them, replying in Sam's voice, "Just fine, Mitchell," the reply wiping the smiles off both Cam and Jonas' faces. Daniel smirked when Sam's consciousness retracted to her own body, and then the men stopped in their tracks on seeing the back of a Jaffa straight in front of them.

Jonas and Cam looked at Daniel, extremely concerned as the latter asked, "Yo… Jackson? Iron Maiden can't see us, right?"

"Wrong."

A sneering Her'ak, First Prime of the Goa'uld Anubis, swung around and shot Daniel in the chest at point blank range with a staff weapon, before turning his weapon on the others. As Jonas tended to Daniel's wound, an angry Cam kicked the staff weapon from Her'ak's hands before remarking, throwing his P-90 to the side, "How about we make this fight even, you weaselly bastard?!"

The southern Colonel grappled the First Prime to the floor, each man dealing heavy blows to his opponent, when suddenly Her'ak began to burst into flame and Cam, on the floor at the time, rolled away quickly as the Jaffa exploded, screaming in pain.

Cam sat up and looked at where Daniel was to find an upset Sam slowly dropping to her knees as the locals, now obviously seeing them, gathered around them at a safe distance. Sam drew in shuddering breaths as she cradled Daniel's head in her lap, a glowing hand hovering over his chest, Jonas, Vala and Teal'c kneeling around the couple.

Daniel, breathing shallow breaths, looked up at Sam and said, grimacing at the pain, "I hate saying goodbye to you. I'm so proud of you, and our babies. Goodbye, my fair Guinevere. I love you."

His eyes closed and Sam shook her head and maintained her focus, but after a long moment, when nothing happened, Cam kneeled by her side and held her in his arms as her hand dropped in frustration. Jonas checked Daniel's pulse as Vala furiously wiped away tears, and the Kelownan looked up at Cam, shaking his head dolefully.

Cam closed his eyes to blink back his own tears, and he held onto a now hysterical Sam, who said between sobs, thumping his shoulder and sounding very distraught, "No… Daniel. No! This can't be the end. No."

A sad Teal'c helped them to their feet, and then picked Daniel's lifeless body in his arms. Cam, upset at being helpless in the previous situation, said, sniffing back involuntary tears,

"I'm sorry, Sam. I'm so sorry. He's gone. Jackson's gone."

Sam sobbed harder as Jonas touched Vala's shoulder as tears ran down her face as she stood in front of Teal'c to look down at Daniel's lifeless body.

"Ok… please don't tell me the future's even more screwed up than it already was… is… will be…"

They all started in surprise on hearing Daniel's voice, and they turned to see a slightly younger and buffer looking Daniel, dressed in similar clothes to the natives. Alt-Daniel looked around at their stunned faces and continued,

"Right, so who do we have here? Teal'c…" His eyebrows shot up. "Sam… like the hair – it suits you." He looked at Cam oddly and remarked, "Weren't you in hospital… ok, never mind." He nodded at Jonas, "Jonas, and…" His eyebrows shot up on seeing Vala and he said in disbelief,

"You can't possibly be on the team!"

Cam shook his head and said before Vala could reply, "Jackson, we've got no time for bantering."

Alt-Daniel nodded quickly and said quietly, his eyes finally moving to the prone figure in Teal'c's arms, "That's the second one."

Jonas asked, "What do you mean?"

Alt-Daniel looked at the body for a moment in quiet reflection, and then said, looking around at the rest of the team, his eyes growing sadder on seeing how upset Sam was, "We have to go. I know where you can hide. Follow me."

Sam stared at Alt-Daniel wide-eyed and Cam put an arm around her, asking as he looked around, "Are there any more Jaffa?"

"There will be if we don't get hidden. You just killed Anubis' First Prime."

Alt-Daniel quickly led the team into a nearby hut, where several women took Daniel from Teal'c's arms, laying him down on some bedding in another room. A man and two other women quickly ushered the team into an underground storeroom, an upset Sam grudgingly following suit when alt-Daniel personally persuaded her.

As they sat on the floor, surrounded in the dusty darkness by staff weapons and other Goa'uld weaponry, Cam remarked uneasily, looking around, "So… uh, once an SG-1 member, always an SG-1 member, huh?"

Sam, still distraught, smiled slightly as she followed Cam's gaze, replying, "It looks like it."

Her gaze fell on alt-Daniel and her smile vanished. Just then, they heard shouts from above, the sound of many metal boots, and Sam tried to get up, saying, "They'll take him."

Cam and Jonas held her down, and Sam said, her voice quiet but desperate, "He's on his own… I can't leave him, Cam… I can't. He's all alone up there. Please, Cam."

Cam held her tightly in his arms as dust fell upon them, and he said, slowly rubbing her shoulder as he looked up at the ceiling, "I need you to hold it together, Colonel. Can you do that for me?"

Sam nodded against his chest after a moment's hesitation, and they heard the Jaffa leave the hut above. A man called down in accented English,

"Dan-yel, the Jaffa are gone."

Alt-Daniel called up, "Thank you, Katep."

The team made their way up to the hut, where the rest were seated but Sam sprinted into the other room to see Daniel's body covered up in cream and Earth coloured cloth. She slowly peeled back the covers and choked on a sob on seeing the wound on his chest again. She threw the covers away and sat at his side as she held his hand, kissing it as she began to cry again, feeling utterly lost and empty.

"I made a promise that I'd kick your ass if you died on me. Dammit, don't make me a liar, Daniel. What am I going to tell our babies?"

Crying, she lay by his side, an arm across his stomach as she watched the lips that would never speak to her again, that would never kiss her again, that would never gape at anything of interest again. It was the end. He was gone. This time, there were no alien interventions, no opportunities to ascend to a higher plain of existence… He was dead.

She closed her eyes and smoothed his stomach as she sobbed against his shoulder, whispering as her entire body shuddered, "Please, Daniel. Please don't do this to me again. I need you, our babies need you… we all need you."

She touched his lips, vainly sniffing back tears as she said, gazing at his face, the features that she could trace in her sleep, "My Galahad."

--------------------

"Wait… wait a second, Major Mitchell…"

Cam said, correcting alt-Daniel, "That's Colonel… um, Lieutenant-Colonel to be precise... but you can call me Mitchell if you want."

Alt-Daniel nodded, and said, picking up from where he had left off as he paced around the seated members of SG-1, "So… Sam and I get married, you lead SG-1 before Sam gets promoted, eventually to lead the SGC… and you marry this… hijacker…"

Vala smiled slightly as Cam shot the Archaeologist a glare, and then it hit alt-Daniel. He paused and said, gesturing to the other room,

"Oh… Oh God, that's why… oh."

Cam nodded, and alt-Daniel, stunned, sat down and said, looking into a clay pot, "The Uprising happened a few months ago. You guys still have the Stargate in your time, don't you?"

Cam, Vala and Jonas nodded, Vala replying, "Yeah, why wouldn't we?"

Alt-Daniel nodded, as though in deep contemplation, and he said after a moment, looking into the fire in the centre of the circle, "They're all dead. The Jack, Teal'c and Sam from my timeline were killed by Ra because they refused to stand by and watch him kill people. That created an alternate timeline, with Ra deciding to take the Stargate with him when he fled Earth. In an ironic twist of fate, I survived."

He sighed. "Sam – my Sam – refused to get our Puddle Jumper back from a Jaffa patrol. Because of that, an alternate team came back… a very different team. Their Teal'c shot their me because I… he was a Goa'uld spy. Apophis had implanted a symbiote in him."

Alt-Daniel closed his eyes as he hung his head, thinking of Sha're, and he continued, "The Uprising was successful and we left another video to point out major features of our timeline so an alternate team…"

Jonas nodded eagerly and said, "We know. We've got the video back at the SGC. There is fish in Jack's pond, by the way."

Alt-Daniel raised his eyebrows slowly, and then asked, looking around at the team, "So… tell me… what are you doing here?"

Cam replied, "Well, we're looking for a small red stone, about the size of your palm, called the Star of Ma'at. You won't know what it…"

Alt-Daniel nodded and said, his face lighting up, "The Star of Ma'at. I've heard of it. The pyramid that we hid the video in had a tablet mentioning it. We didn't know what it was though."

Teal'c asked, "What of the alternate versions of myself, ColonelJackson and O'Neill?"

Alt-Daniel bowed his head and said quietly, "They're all dead. Jack and Teal'c were shot by a Jaffa patrol before Ra left Earth, and Sam… she died shortly after losing her baby."

The team exchanged looks, and Cam asked, "I'm sorry to hustle you, Jackson, but do you have the tablet? We really need to look at it. We've ended up here instead of Deir-el-Medina for a reason and I think it might be you."

Alt-Daniel nodded and pulled the tablet from his robes, showing it to an intrigued Jonas. Cam said, suddenly curious,

"Oh. One more question… what the hell was Anubis' First Prime doing here?"

Alt-Daniel replied, looking up from the tablet, "I have no idea. Anubis came here a couple of days ago looking for the Listener. His ship's in orbit and his armies terrorise the area twice or sometimes thrice daily."

The team exchanged looks again, and alt-Daniel said, suspicious as he looked at them, "You know who the Listener is, don't you?"

Vala said, gesturing with her hand, "It's an Ancient thing."

Cam remarked, looking at Teal'c, "Well, we need to be succinct, so who better to do it than our very own Rambo?"

The Jaffa raised an eyebrow at the southern Colonel before proceeding to relate the entire story of the Guardian and the Listener to an increasingly stunned alt-Daniel while Jonas looked at the tablet, busily taking notes as a suddenly bored Vala looked over his shoulder.

--------------------

Cam sat down next to Sam, her eyes red-rimmed as she held onto Daniel's hand, watching him. She said softly, sensing the Colonel's presence,

"I can't feel him at all. All those times when I thought I couldn't feel him before, I must have felt him to some degree. Compared to all those times, there is nothing here. He's gone."

Cam, worried, turned to Sam, and she turned to him, asking wearily, "How's the other Daniel taking things?"

He shrugged, replying as he scrubbed his cropped hair with a hand in a gesture of frustration and grief, "Not too bad. It's a bit much as you can imagine."

She nodded, her lips against Daniel's hand, and he asked, gently rubbing her shoulder, "Do you want to come sit with us? You could use the change of scenery."

She pressed her lips together for a moment and then said, her eyes still on Daniel's body, "I can't believe he's gone… God, I'm a widow, Cam. It should have been me taking that staff blast… I'm the one who brought you here."

"And that's exactly the reason why you shouldn't be shot. Look, it's going to work out…Jackson wouldn't want you to be miserable like this. He'd want you to carry on with the mission."

She, looking absolutely lost, replied, "What's the point, Cam? The key to my powers was him… and now he's gone."

He held her in his arms, gently releasing Daniel's hand from her grip, whispering as she began to cry again, "Come on, Sam… let's go in the other room. Jackson's gone home."

She whispered back, "Just give me a minute."

He released her, his features etched with worry as she kneeled over Daniel, whispering something in his ear before kissing him on the lips. Taking the golden scarab off her necklace, she prised open his fist, placing it in there and kissed his hand before slowly getting up. Cam escorted her from the room, the two Colonels looking back one more time when they reached the doorway before leaving.


	26. Explanations and Discussions

"T… I thought that one: the Ancients killed Anubis, and two: Sam already killed Her'ak."

Teal'c replied as the team settled down after dinner that evening, "Your assumptions are correct, ColonelMitchell. This is indeed an unsettling development."

Cam nodded and said, sighing as he looked down at the oil lamp lit floor, "I can't believe Jackson's gone."

"Neither can I. It was indeed an honour to serve with DanielJackson as long as I have. My only hope is that he is found alive one more time."

Cam nodded again and then turned his head to see Vala laid sleeping nearby near Jonas who was compiling his notes. The Colonel asked,

"You come up with anything else from that tablet, Quinn?"

Jonas, looking tired, replied, "There's stuff about the Star, about the unnamed Ancient… and ah, something about a big battle between the Star and the Jackal. Oh… and a land of Amazons."

Cam sighed, remembering that fateful mission where Sam and Daniel were forced to procreate five years previously, and remarked in disdain, "If we end up on that damn planet again, I'm shooting Hippolyta on sight. Jackson and Sam needed so much therapy after that."

Jonas, so tired that he was curling up on the ground, his jacket balled up underneath his head, said, "The Star has to fight the Jackal first."

Jonas drifted off to sleep, and Cam asked a perturbed Teal'c, "Is he drugged? Who or _what_ is the Jackal?"

Teal'c replied gravely, looking at the flames of the fire in front of them, "Anubis."

--------------------

Sam sat in the dark on the edge of the cliff from which they had seen the village for the first time earlier, wanting to be alone. She leaned back, feeling the sand in between her fingers as she looked up at the looming dark sky, a breathtakingly clear band of the Milky Way stretched across the inky blackness.

Sensing a presence, she didn't move, waiting for the figure to come closer, and she said softly when she felt hesitation, "It's ok, you're not intruding."

Alt-Daniel sat down next to her and remarked, surprised as she straightened up, "I always figured that I might make you happy one day, but whether we got together or not having an effect on the fate of the Universe…" he chuckled, "… that is something else."

She nodded and said softly, looking down into the village, seeing the light of brush torches dotted in amongst the dwellings, "More than you know."

Touching her hand gently, he asked, "What's our life like in the future?"

She turned to him, tears in her eyes as she replied in one word, "Beautiful."

He gazed at her and touched her cheek as she looked at him, and she asked, sounding distraught, "What's going to happen to my Daniel? I'm supposed to be able to travel back… or forwards but each time I try, I lose my focus."

"We have to bury him as soon as possible. It's very hot here. We usually do it within hours."

She nodded in numb acceptance, and he said, his fingers reaching her hair, "It suits you… this."

She smiled through her oncoming tears, replying as she gazed up at him, "It was my wedding present to you."

"Well, I hope I appreciated it."

She sighed and looked away from him. "I heard about the original team and the alternate one…" She looked back at him, "Whose baby was the second Sam carrying?"

His eyes moist, he replied as he held her hand, "Mine. She was so different to my Sam, so insecure, but she was still you. I just wish that I could have told her one last time before she went how much I loved her. Actually…" He sighed. "I wish I had told my Sam how I felt about her. Obviously, I must have, or will rather... at some point."

They both looked down into the village, and then she glanced at him, looking at him and she chuckled, amused. He frowned and turned to her, asking in confusion,

"What?"

She shook her head, smiling slightly, and then she replied, "I miss how innocent you used to be before the Ori came into the picture."

"Ah… the Ori. I heard about them from Mitchell and that… space pirate."

She smiled again. "I'm sure you did." She sighed. "Vala is a good person, Daniel. You might not believe that now, but she has earned our trust and friendship, and she's come such a long way since you encountered her."

He shrugged. "I figured. She wasn't trying to kiss me. You know, after everything, I can't believe that Mitchell took your command."

"Oh, it was a long time ago, and we were all going our separate ways… but I got it back when I got promoted." She gazed at him for a moment. "Do you want to see our children?"

He nodded and she pulled a picture out of her pocket, tears springing in her eyes as she showed him a grinning Daniel sat in an armchair, holding Grace in his lap, a younger twin on each knee, and the older twins flanking him, sat on the arms of the chair and leaning against him with their arms around his shoulders.

He smiled slightly, moved at how happy he and the children were, and he asked, looking at her, "Do you have one of the two of us together?"

She nodded and produced a picture of her and Daniel, their arms around each other and her head leaning on his shoulder. She wiped away tears as he looked at the picture, and he said softly, handing the pictures back to her,

"We look happy."

"We were. We were very happy. We had our ups and downs, but on the whole, we rocked."

She closed her eyes and when he asked what was wrong, she began to cry, shaking her head, and she said, trembling, "I can't believe he's gone. I don't know what's going to happen, whether we'll have to live out our lives here… I mean, we've changed the timeline inadvertently. Jonas and Teal'c aren't going to see Carolyn and Ish'ta… Cam and Vala aren't going to see Francis again, and I'm not going to see my babies. I wish he was still here." She looked at him. "I'm not going to lie. It's easy to see you as a replacement, as him, but you're not. I want to though, but… I can't."

Understanding on some level, he touched her cheek and replied, "I know. I feel the same about you."

He wrapped his arms around her and she closed her eyes. He kissed her hair, and she said, sniffing back tears as she rested her head on his shoulder,

"If we do make it back, I want you to come back with us."

He shook his head and replied, "I can't, Sam. I'm not your Daniel. It wouldn't be right… and besides, I'm from an alternate timeline. It wouldn't work. Oh… and there's the fact that the present that I'm from is 2005, whereas yours is 2012. You're seven years too old for me."

"Makes a difference from me being two months older than you."

He let her go, taking her hand as he said, getting up, "Come on, let's go back and see what Jonas has made of that tablet. I never got to know Jonas that well after I came back, but he's certainly ebullient."

When they got up, walking down the side of the cliff, she remarked, amused despite her tears, "Just like you. Well, ok, not that much like you... but he's enthusiastic."

"I can do that."

She smiled, sadness in her eyes and face, and she replied softly, "Don't I know it."


	27. Battles

_Thanks to Will for suggesting Moses or Jesus, or anyone else with a powerful inclination from ancient times. Much appreciated._

_A three-chapter bumper update for everyone who's viciously sticking pins in effigies of me for killing Daniel. Sorry! (you could try sticking the pins a little higher in my back… just a suggestion)… consider it a gift (not the suggestion… the chapter... lol)_

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Sat on the other side of the fire from her team-mates and alt-Daniel, Sam asked as she clutched her knees to her chest, "Wait… I have to fight Anubis?"

Cam shook his head, not wanting to accept the fact, and Teal'c looked at him, Vala and Jonas too as alt-Daniel remained motionless. Looking around at her friends, she said,

"You might as well tell me. I am a psychic as well as an empath. I'll get it eventually."

The others looked at alt-Daniel, who looked helpless for a moment, and then he said softly, gazing at Sam over the flames, "Yes. The Star of Ma'at has to fight the Jackal… which is Anubis. I think somehow Her'ak must have saved his master."

Sam nodded, pressing her lips together to hold back a sudden surge of emotion, and alt-Daniel continued, glancing at Jonas, "Then there's something about the Isle of the Blessed. We haven't worked it out… and to be honest, I think we're going to have to play it by ear when the time comes. It says though that a race of female warriors – Amazons – live on the island and there's something else about something fallen but neither of us can make it out."

"Do you have any idea where the island is?"

Both alt-Daniel and Jonas shook their heads, every man and woman looking troubled, and Sam said, accepting one more thing, "Well, first thing's first."

--------------------

Sam kneeled at the side of a rocky mound, dressed in similar attire to the local women, her head partially covered to hide her fair hair. Carved into a rock near the top of the mound were Daniel's name, and his birth and death dates. She smoothed a rock, allowing her tears to flow as she whispered to him,

"Maybe someday, somehow, I'll make things right, and you'll be back, but somehow I doubt it. I guess I'll see you again one day, if indeed there is an afterlife."

Holding the St Christopher that hung around her neck, she began to sob quietly as a desert breeze exposed more of her hair to the hot sun.

"I wanted so much for us… I was planning on resigning so we could have a more normal life. It was going to be a surprise. I know you'd do anything for me, and I wanted to do this one thing for you. You gave a lot more to me than I ever gave back."

She closed her eyes as she clutched the necklace tightly. "God, I so didn't want my last words to you to be a threat to your manhood. Goodnight, my beautiful Galahad."

Suddenly, she was hauled to her feet and she looked up, scared on seeing two grim looking Jaffa, and she fought violently against them, kicking one of them so hard that he fell over. The other one grabbed her, restraining her as she yelled swear words, not stopping her physical protests. The Jaffa that had fallen was about to backhand her but the Jaffa that held her shook his head slightly and the first Jaffa grimaced, regaining his composure.

The first Jaffa said, none too friendly, "ColonelJackson, our lord has ordered your presence."

Sam shot back aggressively, fighting against his hold on her, "You know what? Bite me."

The two Jaffa roughly led her away as other Jaffa held back the scared locals, and as the party passed alt-Daniel's house, she saw alt-Daniel hidden just behind a curtain, part of his face just about visible and she saw him nod imperceptibly. She nodded in reply and carried on fighting and being restrained more roughly.

--------------------

Sam, surprised that she hadn't been zatted already, was thrown to the ground in a place she thought she'd never have to see again, the bridge of a Goa'uld mothership. She grimaced at that as well as her knees hitting the hard floor, and she heard a Jaffa, possibly the one that had managed to grab her without getting beaten – _possibly_ because they all tended to blur into one sometimes – shout,

"Kneel before your god."

She shook her head slightly, thinking how old this scene had become before the defeat of the Goa'uld, and she remarked through gritted teeth, her head down, "Up yours, bastard."

She grimaced, biting her lip so she wouldn't cry out when a Jaffa hit her across her back with a staff weapon.

_That_, no matter how many times it had happened, had never got old.

Breathing through the searing pain of her beating, she finally raised her head to see a black hooded figure seated upon a throne, a force field for a face. Anubis said in his deep, mocking tones,

"Colonel Jackson."

Sam, taking a little too much satisfaction in her words, said, getting to her feet and shooting a Jaffa a warning look when he made to hit her again, "Anubis… or are you going by Nuby these days, you ol' bastard? It's damn hard to kill you, isn't it?"

Anubis thundered, "I am a god. I am immortal!"

Sam, feigning nonchalance and inwardly cursing eight years of working with Jack, continued as she walked around the front of his throne, "No you're not. You should really check your social ranking online one of these days. Oh wait... all this _majestic_ power and technology, and you haven't even reached dial-up… so Perez Hilton's off-limits to you."

She dodged a blow from another staff weapon, throwing the Jaffa and his comrades clear from around her with a raised hand, and Anubis shouted, "Enough! I am beginning to regret capturing you – you are heavily reminiscent of O'Neill!"

"Well, I may have learnt a thing or two, Darth."

Anubis summoned his Jaffa but Sam shut down every door leading onto the bridge with another raise of her hand, sealing the area and leaving just the two of them in the vicinity. Anubis roared at the indignity and grabbed his hand device, throwing her clear off her feet and hard against a wall.

"When will you understand that I know who you are? I know what you are capable of, Colonel Jackson… and I wish to acquire your abilities."

He crouched down in front of her, the Colonel still dazed from the throw, and he touched her face with a gloved hand, continuing, "I have never had a female host before… and you are stronger than all the hosts that I have had previously."

She spat in his face in defiance and he grabbed her chin, slamming one side of her face against the wall behind her.

"Perhaps too strong, but that will not matter once I am within you."

Sam got to her feet as he stood, and he continued, raising his hand device, "However. I will extract the Ancient knowledge from within your mind. Daniel Jackson was the key to your power and as he is not here any more, I will succeed. You have within you the most powerful Ancient of all time and you do not know how to use the power. You will surrender the information and your powers otherwise I will kill you."

Sam said solemnly, looking straight into the whirling oblivion that passed for a face, "There's one thing that you don't understand, and never will. Now that Daniel's gone, I have nothing left to lose… so do your worst." She shook her head. "You're nothing, Anubis. You think you're a god, that you have the right to enslave millions across the galaxy… and for what?"

Growling, he backhanded her across the face, and she, finding a hidden strength from somewhere deep inside, said as she threw him clear of her vicinity, "Wrong answer."

As he struggled to his feet, she closed her eyes, raising her chin and her hands as orbs of white and yellow energy surged around her. She finally opened her eyes, the blues of her irises accentuated by an unseen light source, and she threw her hands towards him, whispering,

"Daniel."

Anubis, ready somewhat after the last time he was threatened by an Ancient before the System Lord had destroyed Abydos, raised his hands, white light surging around them. She pushed with her hands, pushing him backwards with difficulty as he pushed back, and she grimaced in pain at the strain, and he said mockingly,

"The power is too much for you, is it not, Colonel Jackson? You are a weak human. I can offer you so much more than this, so much more than you can imagine. You can rule empires across the Universe, but you are wasting your gifts."

She closed her eyes, a jumble of memories rushing into her consciousness as she maintained her focus.

'_Fy Gwenhwyfar… you are the strongest person I know. You have within you such overwhelming strength. There really isn't anything that you can't do._'

_Daniel brushed her cheek with his hand tenderly as he gazed at her lovingly. She kissed the hand on her face, replying as she smiled at him,_

'_That isn't true, Daniel. You really don't give yourself enough credit.'_

'_That may be true… I don't know. I just like the way you kiss me to prove one of your crazy points… or because you're apparently too hot for my body.'_

_She smiled._

'…_It's good for my ego.'_

_He touched her cheek again. 'You can do this, Sam. I believe in you. You have come so far, such a long way.' He kissed her. 'Atlantis awaits, my fair lady.'_

Back in the present, her resolve strengthened by the memory of how Daniel had believed in her unreservedly, how he had encouraged her to do things despite, and regardless of the cost to him, and she pushed harder. Suddenly, it felt as though something within her had burst open, its contents gushing forth in an uncontrollable torrent.

Anubis had ordered Daniel's murder.

He had got them all stuck in this time because of the alternate timeline created by Daniel's death, and she, Vala, Cam and Teal'c weren't going to see their children again; Jonas, Carolyn, and all the rest of their friends, and their lives.

He had hell to pay.

Doing what Daniel had been stopped from doing, the extra power from within her engulfed the suddenly puzzled and then screaming semi-Ascended System Lord. The doors flew open as Anubis burst into slow flames of white and yellow, screaming in pain and demanding to know what she had done to him.

The Jaffa stood, dumbfounded, on seeing their apparently immortal and invincible master destroyed, and Sam, speaking words she had no control over, said to her flabbergasted audience, looking determined,

"This is your god. Anubis is dead. You are free, Jaffa."

The Jaffa kneeled before her on one knee, an arm across their chest, but she said, raising her hands in a gesture for them to stand as her face and body began to glow, "No, children. Rise. You will never bow down to another. Go forth and spread the word."

As they watched, she disappeared in a bright burst of white light, leaving them to wonder how they were going to live their lives now that their boss had been killed.

--------------------

Sam's eyes flickered open and she found herself lying down in the middle of a wooden hut on some bedding. She groaned, feeling drained, and she felt a hand squeeze hers. Her eyes moved in that direction and she saw Teal'c.

She smiled, remarking hoarsely, "I'd know your hand anyway, Teal'c."

Teal'c smiled slightly and asked, "May I enquire as to how you are feeling, Samantha?"

She grimaced as she slowly sat up, helped by Teal'c and Cam. "I think General O'Neill would say 'like crap.' I must look it, judging by a series of variables."

Teal'c smoothed her hair and a kneeling Cam asked from her other side as Vala and Jonas gathered around them with alt-Daniel, "Do you want some water, Sam?"

The fog in her mind fading, she nodded and he helped her to slowly drink from a bowl. When she had finished drinking, she released a shuddering breath and said, looking at alt-Daniel,

"Anubis is gone. He's dead. I did it."

Alt-Daniel nodded, unsure as to why she was telling him in particular as he had no recollection of his first confrontation with Anubis as an ascended being, although he remembered the second encounter when he persuaded Oma to fight him. He asked, confused,

"What happened?"

As Vala and Cam helped her to lie down again, propping her up with more bedding so she could talk to them, she replied, "I used my powers… and apparently…" she looked around, "… blacked out. How did I get here?"

Jonas replied, squeezing her shoulder gently, "You fell here in a flash of white light a few hours ago."

Alt-Daniel smoothed her brow and then kissed her forehead, saying quietly as she looked up at him, "Get some rest, Sam."


	28. Gladiator

He didn't know who he was or where he had come from as he lay in a cell, the floor of compacted earth and the bars of wood which made the word 'bamboo' inexplicably surface in his mind and then fade away again. He tried hard to remember who he was, feeling that it was key to finding out so much more… and more importantly, an escape from this hellhole.

Around his neck was a string necklace that he had made however long ago, from some scrap string he had found, and an oddly shaped gold shape that he had found in his hand when he had woken up in this place. He looked at it again, feeling some connection to it but the memory scrap faded again as he tried to grasp it, just like the other memory scraps that he had had before now.

His dreams were of strange places and people, children, sensations and feelings… items that meant something to him, if only he knew what.

He needed to find out who he was. All he knew now was that the people who had imprisoned him weren't his friends. They were using him to fight other men to the death, and each time he returned to his cell at sunset, he vomited, feeling sick to the stomach and beyond at the acts of carnage he had been forced to witness, the acts that he had sometimes been forced to carry out.

If only he could answer his own questions.

A woman in armour, a sword at her waist, the word 'Xena' coming to his mind inexplicably, opened the cell door and laid on the floor near the entrance, far from where he lie in the centre of the cell, a plate of fruit and a bowl of water.

The woman kneeled by his side, mopping his brow with a wet cloth, and then proceeding to wash the blood, sweat and gore from his body. He whimpered in pain, feeling the cloth she used strip away scar tissue from his arm, and she smoothed his brow, saying quietly,

"Sshh, you did well today. The others are satisfied."

He replied, his voice hoarse, "I don't belong here, Amphitrite."

She bandaged his now bleeding arm and put his tattered clothes back on as he gazed up at her with a frown, and she said, smoothing his cheek, "There is nothing that I can do. Every male that comes here is subject to the Queen's whim. And… even if the Queen did not wish to use you so, what will you do? You do not know who you are, or where you are from."

"I know that I shouldn't be doing this. There must be another way than killing people like that. They're… they're lives…"

Looking around, scared, Amphitrite said, "Hush now, you will get us both killed. Eat your fruit. I will return tomorrow."

He nodded, sitting up slowly and grimacing at the pain in his stomach from a skin-deep wound, and she got up quickly, leaving the cell quickly before she got into any trouble.

Something about Amphitrite had always unsettled him from the moment he had met her. He didn't know what it was, but it was little things, like the colour of her hair, her pale eyes… each time he saw her, a memory of a beautiful woman surfaced ever so slightly before fading into the oblivion that was his mind before he could even hope to grasp it.


	29. Isle of the Blessed

Sam, now back in green BDUs, led her team and alt-Daniel through luscious jungle, the Colonel having moved them all into a dimension one hundred and eighty degrees from their own so they could walk through the jungle much quicker.

Cam remarked, walking by his CO's side, "We do live in a green galaxy, don't we?"

Sam smiled slightly, and alt-Daniel replied, looking around himself, "Terraforming. The Goa'uld terraformed the worlds that they sent their slaves too."

He looked at Teal'c, both men remembering the Jaffa informing them of that fact, and Jonas remarked disdainfully, "Well, they wouldn't be able to enslave dead humans,"

They emerged from the jungle, Vala saying cheerfully as she glanced at Cam, "Not something you experience everyday… but certainly an experience you wouldn't want to repeat."

They gathered around Sam as they looked around themselves to find themselves now in a beach paradise, palm trees swaying gently in the breeze. Cam asked,

"Are we on an island or looking for one?"

Sam closed her eyes, concentrating until she could see the entire landmass from above in her mind's eye, and she replied quietly when she opened her eyes, "We're on an island."

As they all looked at her, she led them across the white sand towards a line of palm trees, drawn by an indefinable instinct as her team followed without question, knowing that she wouldn't knowingly put their lives at risk.

--------------------

The team came across an amphitheatre dug into rock, blood visible as they looked down into it from the top. Sam shuddered, the others too, and she spotted a wooden enclosure nearby. From the enclosure, several women with long hair of various colours, each one wearing metal body armour with a sword each at their sides, emerged from the structure. One, with dark hair and some sort of a wreath around her head, approached the team, flanked by two other women.

She said on reaching Sam, "Welcome my lady, to the Isle of the Blessed. I am Astydameia, Queen and Sovereign of the Isle."

Sam didn't like the way the Queen and who appeared to be her handmaidens, eyed her male team-mates… and the surprised way they eyed alt-Daniel. She then noticed that there were no men whatsoever in the welcoming party. The Colonel silently gestured behind her back to Cam not to speak when he stepped forward, and she said, addressing the Queen,

"Your Majesty, we are travellers from afar. I'm Colonel Samantha Jackson. This is Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Vala Mal Doran-Mitchell, Jonas Quinn, Teal'c, and Doctor Daniel Jackson."

Astydameia asked, "Do you come in peace?"

Sam replied, "Yes, we do."

"Then I must ask you to surrender your weapons."

Sam immediately shook her head as Cam and Teal'c stepped forward, and said emphatically when she stopped her team-mates, "No. I cannot."

"Retention of your weapons could be construed as an act of hostility."

Sam shook her head and said quietly, looking determined, "We will retain our weapons should we encounter any threat deemed hostile to us. If we wanted to harm you, we would have done it already."

Sam looked at Astydameia defiantly, the two women having a face-off, and then the latter said with an austere, "You must be of Royal bearing, to speak to a Queen with such a lack of respect and protocol. Very well… but first, I must enquire as to the origin of your male companion."

Sam glanced back at her men, asking in confusion when they all looked at her in various degrees of bemusement, "Which one?"

"The one in brown clothing."

Sam replied as she casually stepped in front of the alternate version of her husband, not wanting to lose another Daniel, "He's from our world."

Astydameia took Sam by the hand and led her away, saying, "Then we must show you something potentially of great interest to you."

She said to her maids, "Cater for the others. I will take Samantha into the main enclosure."

Sam shook her head and said, stopping, "No. They go wherever I go. They're my responsibility; no-one else's."

Astydameia sighed, remarking as they began to walk again, "Your ways must be very different from ours… Do you wish to see something of great interest prior to food or afterwards?"

"We don't have a lot of time."

Astydameia nodded and led her by the hand into another wooden enclosure, silently ordering with a gesture of her other hand for a woman to unlock the door of a smaller enclosure within. The Queen said as the door opened,

"We found this one two moons ago."

Sam and the team watched in confusion as a woman roughly rattled the open door, shouting for whoever was within to come out, and they watched as a darkened figure slowly emerged, squinting into the sunlight that was filtering through the open roof of the surrounding enclosure.

SG-1 and alt-Daniel stared in muted shock as a rather worse for wear Daniel emerged from the cell, his limbs stiff, wearing rags for clothes. As Sam stood, rooted to the spot, Daniel slowly approached her, frowning as he tried to remember. Tears in her eyes, she sensed the confusion within him as he gazed at her, looking very confused but guarded too.

He looked straight into her eyes, and she remembered how he had done the same thing a long time ago when they had found him on Vis Uban, how his eyes had felt as though they were boring into her very soul. She blinked back tears as she realised that somehow he had lost his memories, and she barely heard Astydameia say,

"He does not appear to know who he is or from where he has come."

Sam stood still, her heart racing as Daniel touched her cheek, looking as though his eyes were dim.

He didn't know who she was.

He looked to be struggling to remember who he was. She touched his shoulder but he flinched, much to her inner pain. Teal'c asked, looking sad on coming to the same conclusions that Sam and the others had,

"DanielJackson, do you not remember us?"

Daniel shook his head, looking around at the newcomers, and he replied, shaking his head and walking back into his cell, "No. Sorry."

Sam stood there, bereft, and Cam put a hand on her shoulder, remarking in an uncertain voice, "Is he dead or isn't he?"

--------------------

As Sam relived her grief tenfold outside, being comforted by Jonas and alt-Daniel as Vala talked to the locals with Teal'c standing guard, Cam walked into the cell. He found Daniel sat in the middle of the cell, his eyes closed, and the Colonel looked at the dingy surroundings, noticing the dirt, and much to his further dismay, the smell. He said,

"Well… this is new."

Daniel opened his eyes and watched Cam, curiosity in his eyes. Cam exhaled, taking his hat off as he sat down in front of the Archaeologist, and he asked, looking tired,

"Do you really not know who you are?"

Daniel replied in a quiet voice, "The first thing I can remember is waking up on the beach outside, and the women found me." He choked a little. "The Queen likes to watch men fight."

Cam's eyes widened and he asked, "They made you fight?"

Daniel nodded timidly, replying as he felt sick again, "Yes."

Realising that he wasn't going to get more out of Daniel, Cam sighed and asked, "You don't know who I am, do you?"

Daniel, looking uncertain and then scared, said, "I don't know. You look familiar… you and your friends… the fair one especially but each time I try to remember, it flies just out of reach. I've tried so many nights to remember, remember the first thing about who I am… but each time, I fail."

Cam raised his eyebrows briefly and said, realising just how extensive the task of informing the man of his origins was, "Well… where to start. Ok. Your name is Daniel Jackson. You're on a team called SG-1. We travel to different worlds to establish diplomatic relationships, and acquire technologies to defend Earth."

"Earth?"

"That's home to you, boy."

Daniel frowned, assimilating the new information. "Who is the fair-haired woman?"

Cam smiled and said, "It's not for me to say. Do you think you're ready to come home with us?"

Daniel, looking uncertain once again, said, "There's still so much I don't know… like the reason I'm here… why I have these dreams of strange places and people."

Cam remarked, "That is a lot to tell you, but I'll do my best."

--------------------

Cam emerged from the larger enclosure, looking very frustrated, and he encountered a waiting Sam, who asked, anxious, "How did it go? Did he remember anything? Is he coming home?"

Cam shook his head and said, "He doesn't trust us. He thinks he's done something bad to be dumped here like this, fighting for sport."

Sam looked increasingly distressed, and he said, patting her shoulder, "Your go. I'll just go and have words with these witches."

She nodded and, after a moment's hesitation, entered the enclosure, walking towards the smaller cell within, her heart feeling heavy in case this time his memory loss would turn out to be permanent… although quite why he had memory loss was beyond her. The Ancients wouldn't do that to him… would they?

Her heart felt even heavier on seeing Daniel's physical condition, and she sat down in front of him, and said, smiling despite her pain, "Hey."

Daniel gazed at her and said bluntly as she sensed fear, "Cameron's already talked to me."

She watched him for a moment and then said, her head cocked to one side, looking inquisitive despite her breaking heart, "Yes, I know… What I don't understand is why you're not eager to know you are, who you really are."

His gaze dropped as he replied, looking away, "I am and I'm not." He looked at her, scared. "What if I've don't have it in me to be the person I was? What if I did something really bad and this is my punishment? I don't want to remember in that case. I'd rather live like this, as vicious as this existence is."

Fighting the urge to touch him, she said with a shake of her head, keeping her hands to herself, "Oh… Daniel. No. You're just scared because you don't have your memories and you don't know why. I can tell you that you were… _are_ the most wonderful man that I've ever known, with such a beautiful soul. You always stand up and fight for what you believe in, regardless of the consequences… you would give your life for what you believe in, or to save someone… and you beat yourself up when you think you haven't done enough. You've died so many times and come back just as many times, you've lost your soul and regained it in this long journey." She touched his jaw then quickly retracted her hand. "In short, you are amazing, Daniel Jackson."

He remarked deprecating, "That sounds like a lot to live up to."

She looked deep into his eyes. "It isn't… not for you. Come with us so we can show you who you are instead of us telling you. Please."

He looked undecided, and he said, glancing at her, "I don't know. I'm… I'm scared."

"There's nothing to be scared of. Look, if I was you, I wouldn't mind getting to know me… or you rather."

He smiled slightly at her brief confusion, and he said softly despite his inner turmoil, "I get it."

She sighed when he looked down and she got up, willing herself not to cry at that moment. She was about to leave when he looked up and asked,

"Samantha Carter?"

Happy that he had remembered her name at least, regardless of whether he had learned it that day or whether it was the result of a resurfacing memory, she turned from the entrance and asked in reply, "Yes?"

He cocked his head, trying very hard to remember, and asked, "Was there ever anything between us?"

She approached him, kneeling in front of him as she remembered him tell her long ago why he had asked that same question on Vis Uban, and she touched his cheek affectionately despite her pain. She said softly as he gazed into her eyes,

"Yes. Yes there was and hopefully still is."

She kissed him softly and said, a fraction of her pain showing in her eyes as she lightly grazed his stubbly jaw with her knuckles, "Come home, Daniel… please. Come home with me."

The same memory of a fair haired woman resurfaced, this time getting stronger but when he tried to grasp it, it faded. Sensing his frustration at not being able to remember, she held his face in her hands, gently rubbing underneath the eyelids with her thumbs. She whispered as she closed her eyes,

"Close your eyes and relax."

As she focussed on him, opening up her mind to him, flashbacks of his life rushed forth, and he gasped sharply as he felt a void being filled with a slow explosion of light and colour where before there had been the fear-inducing darkness and an overwhelming feeling of being alone.

Flashbacks of the darkness, of the light, of sunshine and the rain… losing his parents, seeing the Stargate for the first time, meeting Sha're and helping to free the Abydonians from Ra… Hathor… the Goa'uld… losing Sha're… Shifu, various adventures with SG-1, Sarah, Oma Desala, Janet, Anubis… the Amazon planet… childbirth, fatherhood, marrying Sam… the Ark of Truth, the Ancients, Atlantis, his children, Billy the Kid, the Doctor, Captain Jack, the Charmed Ones, Leo… a huge canyon of indescribable knowledge.

At last, he opened his eyes, finally remembering who he was as Sam had kick-started his memory and, kneeling, he wrapped his arms around her and began to cry against her shoulder as she cried too, holding onto him. Sniffling, he looked at her, gazing at her face and he said, his voice broken by the stress of what he had been put through,

"Sam."

She smiled through her tears and kissed him, replying, "I knew you were in there somewhere."

He pulled the scarab that hung around his neck, from under his rags and showed it to her, whispering, "I have something for you."

Shocked, she asked as she looked from the necklace to him, "How…?"

He shrugged, and replied, "I found it when I woke up here. I didn't know what it was… I couldn't remember. What happened? We were in Egypt and Her'ak was there."

"He killed you, Daniel. He brought Anubis back to try and take my abilities."

Horrified, he stared at her, and she continued, expelling a shuddering breath, "He's gone. I killed him. It was another prophecy. The Daniel from that timeline has a tablet he'd found in the pyramid with the video, and it had things about the Star of Ma'at. It described the fight between the Star and the Jackal, and a land of Amazons."

Noticing how weary he looked, she helped him to his feet, and, wrapping an arm around his waist, she said, "Let's go home, Daniel."

--------------------

Outside, as Cam was in the middle of a heated argument with Astydameia about her treatment of Daniel, SG-1 turned to look as Sam and Daniel emerged from the enclosure. Vala ran up to them and asked, looking hopeful,

"Is it you?"

Daniel smiled slightly as he gazed at Sam, and he replied, "Yes it is, Vala. I'm back… somewhat."

Vala, beaming, hugged him, taking him by surprise as Sam looked amused, and then the rest of the team took their turns to hug him and dish out insults. Sam said with a sigh as they all gathered around the Archaeologist, alt-Daniel watching his older alternate self with guarded interest,

"What I don't get is how he's here… with the scarab that I put in his hand back in Egypt."

They all looked surprised and spooked, and then confused.

"He was alone all of this time and…"

"Oh, no he wasn't."

They all looked as one of the Queen's handmaidens, Amphitrite to be precise, stepped forward. Sam began to wonder whether Daniel had been taken advantage of when, Amphitrite, smirking, morphed into the form of Jacob Carter, dressed in a creamy ribbed jumper with brown trousers.

Sam asked, scared and shocked as everyone else gaped, including the other women, "Dad?"

Jacob nodded, and Daniel asked with a slight frown, "You were here all this time?"

Jacob nodded again. "Well, _someone_ had to look out for my boy." He looked around at the rest of SG-1. "The Others didn't have anything to do with this… you see, there are many plains of existence between yours and ours, and above us too. As a failsafe when he got shot, this young man's consciousness ascended but got lost along the way. I was sent to watch over him."

Sam, distraught and angry, asked as she stepped towards her father, "You let him be tortured and used?!"

"Sammy, I couldn't interfere. The Isle of the Blessed don't like men and I would be needlessly tampering if I went glowy on their asses."

He looked at Astydameia and said menacingly, "By the way, I hated every minute of working for you, lady. You're a vicious sadist."

As Astydameia and her women looked shocked, Jacob's body engulfed in white light, the light surrounding the team and alt-Daniel, blocking out everything around them.

When it faded, they were in Egypt again, and Jacob said, glad that the Amazons weren't there, "That's better."

He looked at Sam and at Daniel, and said, "I'm sorry. I couldn't interfere. I only found him a couple of weeks ago otherwise I would have a found a way to bring him back a lot earlier."

Looking around at the team, particularly both of the Daniels, he said, "Well, what are we going to do with you?" He looked at alt-Daniel. "I'd let you go back but then my daughter would probably find someway to kill me."

Alt-Daniel looked at Sam and said softly, "I'll be fine."

Sam shook her head and replied, "No… you'll be alone. You won't have anyone to share things with. You won't be able to have a family in case you make the timeline even worse… it'd be torture for you."

"Then what would you have me do?"

Sam looked at Jacob, as did everyone else, and the ascended ex-Tok'ra held out his hand to the man, alt-Daniel slowly taking it, looking confused. Jacob asked with a little smile,

"Well, young man, what do you say to ascending again? This time, I promise you myself that it'll be better than your experience last time. Much has changed. So much. That non-interference rule? Gone. And it's all thanks to you." He looked at Daniel with a little smile, and then asked alt-Daniel, "So, what do you say?"

Alt-Daniel shook his head and said, "No, thanks."

Cam said, making the man turn to look at him, "Hey, come on… you won't come with us, but you won't go up… what's up?"

Alt-Daniel replied with a shrug, looking around at everyone before his eyes moved to his older self and then Sam, "I don't belong anywhere. My Sam, Jack and Teal'c are dead… my timeline doesn't exist any more. It feels like cheating if I escape. I got them stuck there."

Sam, upset, touched his jaw as she said, shaking her head, "Daniel… God, just stop it, will you? Stop taking the whole world onto your back for once, Atlas, and listen. There's another way. I know, if I'd somehow died or got lost, I wouldn't want you to be alone, not like this. Please, Daniel… let Dad do this for you."

Alt-Daniel shook his head and Sam nudged her husband, gesturing to the alternate Archaeologist with her eyes, hinting for him to have words with him. Daniel stepped forward and grabbed his younger self's forearm, saying as he drew him closer,

"Sam's right. You're not from this time… how are you going to thrive? You can't share your ideas with anyone because they wouldn't understand, and if they did, you would change the course of culture and civilisation across the planet. And believe me, there is so much more for you to learn, things you can't possibly imagine right now."

The two men hugged, and alt-Daniel whispered in Daniel's ear so that no-one else could hear, "Look after her, Daniel… I lost the chance to tell my Sam how I felt."

When they parted, gazing at each other, Daniel said, looking worried, "Take care, ok?"

Alt-Daniel nodded and Daniel let him go, his alternate timeline counterpart going to Jacob, but the Ancient shook his head, and said with a serene expression, gesturing to his daughter,

"It's not my dance."

Sam said, looking panicked, "Dad… I've never…"

Jacob approached his daughter, squeezing her shoulder and he remarked teasingly but with affection, "You can blow up suns, defeat a semi-Ascended System Lord, but you can't ascend a man? Get out of here."

Sam smiled, the gesture a half-grimace as Jacob grinned, and Cam said, patting her shoulder, "Well, Daddy has spoken. Good luck."

Sam looked helpless for a moment and then she held alternate-Daniel's hands as he gazed at her, remarking with a soft smile, "Always something different in this job, huh?"

She nodded with a little smile, knowing too well what he meant, and she said to him, to put his mind at peace, or at least try to, "You were amazing, Daniel… you saved us all. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be closer to finding out about my powers… we wouldn't have found Daniel. Thank you."

Looking perturbed, he said softly, "I couldn't save them. No matter how many people I may help, I couldn't save my friends."

"But you did, in so many ways. And you know what? We wouldn't trade you for the world… or the Universe."

She gently kissed him on the cheek and continued, "To ascend, you have to feel that you're worthy of it. I know you are – we all do, but what matters is… you. The programme wouldn't be possible without you… so many allies would never be allies without you. Kelowna wouldn't still be alive and kicking if it wasn't for you. What about the Enkarans and the Gadmeer too? For once in your life, Daniel Jackson, focus on the positive side of things."

He closed his eyes, raising his face to the sky, and he whispered, "Thank you."

As they all watched, he slowly converted into white and yellow energy, gazing at her through the transformation with a small smile. The energy mass hovered above Sam as she gazed up at it, her face glowing with the reflection of it as she felt a wave of warmth and peace from the ascending Daniel.

She whispered with a smile, "Bye, Daniel," as she watched him slowly ascend into oblivion, and she closed her eyes, feeling sad at him going. Daniel and Teal'c put their arms around her, and they all looked at Jacob as Cam and Vala held hands.

The elder Carter remarked, "Well… I guess you'll be wanting to go home."

Teal'c replied, "It is not possible as we have modified the timeline."

Jacob rubbed his hands together. "Oh Teal'c, how much have you seen of this Universe? Never say never. You can still go back… or forward in your case."

Sam and Daniel exchanged surprised looks, as did Cam and Vala, Sam squeezing Teal'c's shoulder as he patted Jonas', and Sam asked, "We can? How?"

"You know, you and Daniel are Ancients or Ancient hybrids in this Egyptian time travel adventure… not forgetting subjects of a prophecy or two." When they looked at him in puzzlement, he continued, "Ok…ok, the Others might have made a few changes here and there to keep things how they were, but they're only doing it once… union labour."

Cam watched Sam for a moment, and then Daniel, and he said with a smug smile, "I've got it."

They all turned to look at him in surprise, and Cam continued, "Jackson's the key to Sam's starry powers."

Sam nodded, remembering how she had transported all of them back from their time to 1965, and she said, looking at Daniel, "Each time I was able to use them, was because of you."

Cam asked, surprised himself as he looked at an amused Vala, "I'm right?"

Jacob grinned and nodded, and Cam looked even smugger as Vala rolled her eyes in pretend-exasperation, and the Ancient said with a huge grin, "Oh, how far you've come. You won't need my help anymore. It's still your dance, Sammy."

Sam nodded and looked around at her team, every one of them looking hopeful at seeing their loved ones again, and she asked, looking at her father, "Will they remember all of this too?"

"That's your choice."

Jonas said, "I would like to remember this… I don't want to forget… how about you guys?" He looked at Cam, Vala, and Teal'c, who each agreed, and Sam looked around at her team again, happy that everyone was alright and safe. She then looked up at Daniel, noticing the love in his eyes despite his ragged appearance, and she held his hands with a content smile, closing her eyes as they all began to be engulfed in a breathtakingly bright burst of white light.


	30. Miscarriage of Time Past

Four members of SG-1 suddenly appeared in a slow burst of bluish white light in the gateroom back at the SGC, stunning Walter and the several on-duty gateroom personnel. Reynolds was summoned and, as Carson and McKay joined a growing number of people in the control room, he sprinted into the gateroom with Carolyn hot on his heels, to see Cam and Vala holding hands, and Jonas sweep Carolyn off her feet as though he hadn't seen her for years.

Teal'c turned, as did Cam, Vala and Jonas, and then they exchanged scared looks, and Cam asked, "Where the hell are Sam and Jackson? I swear, they were right behind us."

He held onto his wife's hand, and Reynolds asked, scratching his head in partial puzzlement at the team's appearance, "What happened, Mitchell?"

Cam exhaled, looking up at the Stargate, and Teal'c said, looking perturbed, "The narrative will be of great interest, ColonelReynolds… however, our immediate priority is to learn of the whereabouts of DanielJackson and ColonelJackson."

--------------------

"At least eat something, honey."

A younger Jacob Carter kneeled at the bedside of his wife, said wife looking pale and drawn, her eyes unseeing. He sighed, knowing that he couldn't understand her pain but wanting to help, if only she'd let him in. He smoothed her cheek and got up, looking out of the window, pain and worry in his eyes.

Sam and Daniel, unseen, stood in the corner of the room, back in 1961, looking sad. Tears in her eyes, she whispered, despite not needing to, considering their circumstances,

"I can't believe Mom went through this by herself."

Daniel nodded, whispering back with moist eyes as he held onto her, remembering having witnessed his mother-in-law collapse earlier, "She's a strong woman."

Jacob left the room with another sigh, his back and shoulders tense, and Sam said, kneeling at her mother's bedside, "Maybe she should have let Dad in though. Despite everything, it might have helped her."

Daniel dropped to his knees at her side and watched as Sam smoothed her mother's cheek, her hand passing through her, and then she closed her eyes. Daniel placed a hand on her shoulder, concerned, and she began to glow softly. Raising a hand above her mother, white light pouring into the older Carter as Daniel looked on, concerned, Sam whispered with a little smile,

"It's going to work out, Mom. You're not alone… you were never alone."

Grace began to cry, and then asked, surprised on seeing them, "Who are you?"

Smiling at Daniel as Grace sat up, startled, Sam replied, gently lying her mother down again, "You could say we're a couple of guardian angels."

"Guardian angels?"

Daniel replied with a smile, "Oh yeah."

Grace asked, looking at them both in a hostile manner which reminded Daniel so much of Sam, "Have you come to lecture me about adultery?"

They both glanced at each other and shook their heads, and Sam said softly, "No. We just came to offer you comfort right now. The pain will go."

Grace began to cry again as she said, "No it won't. I lost our child."

Daniel caressed Grace's cheek and replied, "It will… in time. One day, you'll be ok. Get some rest."

Grace nodded, gazing at him, and Sam slowly raised a hand over her mother's face, watching as Grace's eyes began to flicker closed, and Daniel asked as they stood up, "She's not going to remember meeting us, is she?"

Sam shook her head and replied, looking at him, "No, but she'll feel better tomorrow."

He kissed her and took her hand, saying in a quiet voice, looking concerned, "Let's go home, Sam."


	31. The Return, Part II

After contacting the on-base Nursery and discovering that the Carter-Jackson quintet were still on-base, and fruitlessly searching the Carter-Jackson residence, the rest of SG-1 regrouped with Reynolds and Jack, the latter of whom had flown in on hearing that his friends were missing, in the briefing room.

Jack asked, running his fingers through his cropped hair, feeling stressed and worried at his best friend and former best ever second-in-command being possibly MIA, "So… do you think they could have – I don't know – taken a wrong turn? You know… that whole fork in the road thing…"

Cam replied, "I don't know, Sir. We were all there in Ancient Egypt with General Carter, and then Colonel Jackson was bringing us home."

"You guys have all the fun."

Jonas asked, "Could they have been trapped by the Ancients… or even…"

He was cut off by the sound of a siren, and Walter's voice calling over the base PA system, "Medical team to the gateroom… repeat, medical team to the gateroom," at the same time as Jack's and Reynold's pagers went off. Jack remarked, exasperated as he got up, everyone following suit a moment later,

"Jesus, what now?!"

As they all sprinted out, not thinking about looking through the window overlooking the gateroom in all their hurry, Cam asked Vala, the Mitchells looking hopeful, "You don't think…?"

Vala shrugged and said quietly as they descended the staircase into the control room, "Don't, Cameron."

They all froze in surprise, standing behind Walter's chair on seeing Sam kneeling on the gateramp, an unconscious Daniel, in rags, in her arms as Carolyn checked him over. Jack muttered an obscenity at the sight, and they all ran down into the gateroom as Carolyn's porters loaded Daniel onto a crash cart, Sam looking bereft as she watched him being wheeled away.

Cam and Jack put their arms around her as they all followed the cart out of the gateroom, the latter remarking quietly as he looked after the cart with a sad expression, "I'm betting this is gonna be our most interesting briefing yet."

--------------------

"Wow… so Space Monkey was all by himself in… that… timeline?"

Sam numbly nodded in reply to her superior officer's question as she sat in the observation room, watching as the medics worked on an unconscious Daniel in the Infirmary below. She leaned forward, folding her hands under her chin as she watched, wanting to be at her husband's side. Jack looked up at the rest of the team standing behind their chairs, and then gently patted Sam's shoulder, saying,

"He'll be fine, Carter."

"I hope so, Sir. I think that last little trip did it."

She closed her eyes, releasing a shuddering breath as everything caught up with her, and she began to cry again. The rest of SG-1 left the room, realising, just as much as Jack had, that for her to cry in front of everyone meant that she was in a lot more pain than she was showing.

Jack pulled her into his arms and hugged her, as she said, shutting her eyes tightly, "I thought he was alright… we saw my Mom miscarry a baby that would have been both mine and Daniel's brother or sister. I thought he was ok. Those… _bitches_ took a lot out of him and I couldn't do anything. I saw him die."

"Ssshh, Carter. He's going to be alright. You brought him home… that's what matters. He's home now and he's ok. When Hank's and Janet's girls have finished, you can go down and hold his hand. Make sure to give him a punch from me for getting himself killed again. Yeesh, I thought I'd never have to say that... again."

She sniffed and nodded, slowly straightening up as she dried her eyes with a tissue he offered her, and she said, her voice still wobbly, "Sorry Sir."

"Oh come on Carter, we're past that."

Carolyn looked up, catching Sam's eye, and nodded. Jack patted her knee with a little smile, and remarked, "There you go… don't forget that punch."

"Yes Sir."

Sam couldn't get out of the room fast enough, sprinting down stairs into the Infirmary, where she sat at Daniel's bedside, holding his hand. She looked up as Carolyn approached, and the Doctor said,

"He appears to be suffering from physical exhaustion from his experiences on the Amazon island. He has multiple contusions across his body, several signs of heavy physical trauma in the form of cuts, and he's dehydrated. I've hooked him up to an IV and we'll see how it goes. If you want… you could take him home a little later so he can be more comfortable." She sighed. "As for the psychological factors, I don't know as yet how badly affected he is, so if you take him home, I suggest that you monitor his mental health for at least a week. We may have to bring Doctor MacKenzie in."

Sam grimaced, and Carolyn nodded in acknowledgement of her reluctance, and said, dropping her professionalism, "He took a pretty big battering, Sam. I honestly don't know what's going to happen."

Sam nodded and continued to hold Daniel's hand, saying quietly as she looked down at her husband's face, "Thanks."

Carolyn squeezed her shoulder and left, and Sam whispered as she watched Daniel, "Here we are again." She sighed softly. "Don't let me lose you again, Daniel. Please. I died inside when I lost you in Egypt… and in true Jackson fashion, I'm dying again."

She kissed his hand, the Infirmary lights catching the glint of his wedding band. "If you go, I go. I can't keep going through this. I need you."

She rested her head on his pillow, next to his head, and she reached under his scrubs to smooth his stomach as more tears began to flow. "Please, Daniel."

She closed her eyes and as Jack, the medical staff, and the rest of SG-1 watched in shock, tendrils of white light rose from her hand, diving into the Archaeologist from above. Sam opened her eyes when she heard one of the Nurses gasp and she sat up, looking hopeful as she dried her eyes, and she watched along with everyone else as his eyes flickered open. She smiled, her eyes moist as he turned to look at her, smiling weakly, and he said, his voice hoarse,

"Hey."

He coughed, the Colonel helping him to sit up and rubbing his back as Carolyn and Cassie stood at the foot of his bed, and asked, his voice clearer, "What happened this time?"

Sam smiled and remarked, kissing him on the cheek, "Stories later, Jackson."

He held her face in one hand, smoothing her cheek with a thumb and he smiled tenderly as she smoothed his hair back, both of them feeling overwhelming relief, as well as a feeling of overcoming insurmountable odds.

--------------------

A little later, the Jacksons walked up to the Nursery together, Sam saying as she held Daniel's hand, ignoring the looks from passing personnel, "You should have stayed in the Infirmary."

He shook his head and replied, "I honestly feel fine… come on, you can feel it…"

"Yeah, but considering everything you've…"

"We'll jump off that bridge when we come to it. I just want to take one step at a time."

"Ok."

They entered the Nursery after signing in with the Sergeant at the reception desk, and watched, their arms around each other as James and Cammie listened to a story with several other children, the story read by an SF. As they did so, Claire, Jake and Francis mounted a surprise attack on the toy box, and Grace slept in one of the nearby cots like a true Jackson in that she could sleep through a riot.

'_Our little monsters are ok._'

'_Oh yeah. Our beautiful little monsters._'

They were about to move forward when four little heads shot up, all shouting a mixture of, "Mommy!" and "Daddy!" as Francis shouted with a laugh, "Uncle Jackson!"

The Jacksons kneeled as five little children mobbed them, the other children staring at them for a few moments before returning to what they had been doing… and Grace took that opportunity to finally wake up, in a way that ensured that everyone in the entire state would know.

Sam smiled as she gazed at Daniel, a Sergeant rushing to soothe the baby, and the Colonel, approaching the cot, Claire to her hip as she held James' hand, crouched down beside Grace's cot, whispering with a smile as she touched the baby's cheek, stopping her cries,

"Hello, little one."

She placed Claire on the floor, James holding her hand as they watched their sister, and Daniel approached with Jake and Cammie as Sam picked up Grace in her lap, asking as she bent her head to look down at her, bouncing her in her hold as the baby began to bawl again, "Sssh, Gracie. We're going home soon."

Sam checked Grace's nappy, and then remarked as the baby's cries died down, "It isn't your diaper, young lady… and I have it on good authority that you've just eaten."

She frowned slightly and then smiled, undoing the baby's suit and smoothing her bared stomach as she laid her down on the floor. Sam whispered with a small smile as the baby looked a little more relaxed,

"That works on Daddy too. I bet he was recalcitrant as a baby too."

'_Saaam! Anyway… I was a quiet baby._'

'_Sure!__'_

Sam and Daniel both smiled, and the former, kneeling, lifted Grace up in the air as the baby laughed, and the Colonel remarked affectionately, "You have a beautiful little laugh, just like Daddy too. And just like with Daddy, I wish you'd use it more."

--------------------

After settling their children down for the night back home, the monumental task taking a good couple of hours as they wound down from being over-excited, Sam followed Daniel downstairs and watched as the Archaeologist sat on the couch with his eyes closed, his head in his hands.

She sat at his side, smoothing the hair around his ear, knowing that he was feeling out of sorts from having ascended again, after a fashion, and she waited for him to speak. Her fingers moved from his ear to the sensitive spot on his neck, and he flinched at the contact.

Sighing, she sat back and watched him. After about a minute, he straightened up and looked at her, saying softly,

"You should have left me there."

She shook her head, shocked, and she asked, her eyes moist, "Why?"

He gently touched her cheek and replied, "Because I'm not worth it. How many times have I promised you that I'd stay by your side, only to die or get lost somehow?"

"It's not like you do it on purpose."

He shook his head and exhaled, looking down as he said, "That's not the point. The point is that I keep breaking my promises. I resigned but then I had to go back because of what happened and…"

She cut him, saying quickly, "I'm resigning too. I got my letter all written up and I'm handing it in to General O'Neill before he leaves tomorrow."

Looking downright shocked, he said, "God, no… why would you do that?!"

"Just as you won't let me decide about whether you stay at the mountain or not, you can't do it for me. I can't do this any more. I was planning on doing it anyway before you died, but when I went to see your grave, it really drove home just how I should have done it sooner."

"It wouldn't have made a difference. We would have still been brought back to the mountain. And anyway, I don't want you to resign… you're getting recognition finally…"

"It doesn't matter… none of it matters without you, Daniel. You've got to stop thinking that you're replaceable… because you know what?!" Her voice rose and trembled with pain, "You are irreplaceable, whether you like it or not, whether you think so or not… and I'm not losing you again."

She curled up near the arm of the couch and began to cry, finally letting out her anguish at having watching him being killed, as well as finding him without his memories. His heart melting on seeing her so upset as well as feeling her emotions, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her firmly against himself as he kissed her neck, whispering,

"I'm here… I'm here, baby."

She held onto him just as tightly, glad and relieved of his presence, and then she kissed him. He was about to pull away when she kept it up, pushing him back onto the couch, and he finally let himself lose his self control as he touched her, and she him.

--------------------

_DementedLeaf, I swear, I'm getting there. Next chapter. _; D


	32. Birthday Treat

Daniel came home early the next afternoon from helping Jonas with a translation at the mountain, looking forward to some rest but knowing that with five children he wasn't going to get it. Finding the lounge, kitchen, and dining room empty, he frowned slightly and called silently,

'_Sam? Honey, where are you?_'

Not hearing anything in his head, but feeling something strange, he was about to ascend the stairs, when she appeared in front of him in a flash of bluish white light. Smiling in amusement at her using her powers, he hugged her and remarked after they had kissed,

"I take it you haven't seen Jack – he was pretty chipper at the mountain."

She replied with a shrug, "I told him I had something important to discuss but he said that it could wait for after your birthday…" She smiled, blushing slightly. "He winked."

They sat down in the lounge, and he asked, looking round, "Where are the monster brigade?"

She replied, kneeling in front of him on the couch with a mischievous smile, undoing the buttons of his shirt, "They're at Uncle Mitchell's."

He raised his eyebrows briefly, and she continued, still casually unbuttoning as he sat back passively, "Cam insisted… said that it was good practice for them when they have their planned seven kids." She grinned. "Vala hit him."

He chuckled at the thought of a Mitchell domestic, and he said, kissing her, "So…"

"So… I was thinking, _Jackson_, that maybe you wouldn't mind another birthday present."

"Oh, when you put it like that…"

She straddled his lap and kissed him as he held her waist, groaning softly as he became more aroused, and glad of the fact that they wouldn't be interrupted.

'_Happy birthday._'

'_Hmm, I think this is more than happy._'

She snickered in reply as he pulled her top off, undoing her bra with practiced ease, his lips moving to her chest. Groaning, she raised her hand and they were bathed in bluish white light as she mentally reassured him when he became startled, and a second or so later, they were in the middle of their bed.

'_Well… that solves the problem of getting upstairs when we get frisky on the couch. I'm glad that you didn't send us to your car by accident again._'

'_That was fun._'

'_Hmm._'

Her lips still on his as she lay over him, she undid his belt buckle, somehow getting his jeans off without breaking the kiss, and he ran his hands up and down her waist as he savoured the feel of her body against his after divesting her of the last remnants of her clothing. Her lips travelled lower, down his chest and his stomach, and to her happy surprise, he didn't try to stop her when she went even further.

She smiled as she watched his hips rise off the bed, hearing his gasps and groans and the drawn out calls of her name, and feeling his fingers in her hair. She lay at his side as he turned over to gaze at her, touching her cheek, and as she caressed his neck, she said with a little smile,

"I'm glad you're here, Daniel."

He kissed her softly, replying as he gazed at her lovingly, mentally projecting every breathtaking part of his overwhelming love for her, "Me too. You're safe… and so are our babies."

Resting her head against his chest as he held her close, she whispered, "We're still a long way off from knowing who that Ancient is… but maybe the answer will come eventually."

He hummed in agreement, kissing her shoulder, and he remarked, "I don't think anyone has ever been this happy turning forty-seven."

She smiled in amusement, stroking his hip as she retorted, glancing down between them, "I guessed."

They held onto each other, kissing with a growing passion, and he was about to turn them over so that he was on top, when she shook her head and whispered with a smile, "It's _your_ birthday."

She rolled him onto his back, getting a thrill as she always did on feeling his taut shoulder muscles, and straddled his thighs as he gazed up at her. He held her waist as she held onto his shoulders, both of them closing their eyes as they completed their physical connection, their senses reeling.

--------------------

Thoroughly sated, she rested her head on his chest as he dozed from the previous exertion, and she smiled as she smoothed his stomach, feeling his heartbeat beneath her cheek. She kissed his chest and felt his hand smooth her back, and he remarked with a drowsy smile, his hand reaching her hair,

"This is my favourite birthday."

"Mine too."

He smiled, kissing her hair, and said with a smile that lit up his face as she gazed up at him with a matching smile, "We finally made it to seven times."

"Check us out. Do you want to try for eight?"

He ran his fingertips up and down her back and asked, "How long are our blue-eyed hoard terrorising Uncle Mitchell and Auntie Vala?"

She ran a hand down his abdomen, replying as he nuzzled her neck, "Hmm... Morning." She met his gaze when he paused. "And yes, I got the pump out earlier. Grace is going to have to have a vendetta if she actually finishes all the milk that I bottled up."

He smiled again as his fingers moved to her breasts, remarking, "Well... I don't think it's the milk that that little missy wants, per se."

"You know... you're only doing it because you start feeling tingly too."

He retorted playfully, "That's nothing to do with our link, believe me." He kissed her neck, smoothing her bare stomach, and he whispered, burying his nose in her hair, "You always make me feel tingly."

He yelped in partial surprise and partial pain when she reached between them with a mischievous smile, and she remarked as his eyes lit up for the countless time that day as he gazed up at her, "Eight it is."

"I'm not sure if you want to go through childbirth another three times."

She laughed, and then giggled when he grabbed her, shrieking with laughter as he tickled her, and they began to make love for the eighth time that day.


	33. Nightmare

Later that night, Sam woke up with a gasp on experiencing a particularly bad dream involving scary looking women in body armour, wielding swords, and she looked over at Daniel in the dark, hearing him whimper in his sleep and looking distressed. Realising that she had been sharing his nightmare, a phenomenon that he had forgotten to moderate on a few occasions before, she held him tightly in her arms as he cried out.

Tears in her eyes as she realised further that he was re-experiencing his ordeal on the Isle, she ran her fingers through his hair, whispering as she rested his head against her bosom, "Sshh, Daniel. It's ok. You're home now. You're safe."

She began to cry silently when she heard him groan, crying out in his sleep, "Please don't make me do this! No!"

He awoke with a cry and then clung onto his wife, whispering, his voice muffled and shaky, his breaths ragged, "Sam."

"Honey, it's ok… you're safe. I won't let them touch you again."

She placed a hand on his chest, feeling his racing heart, and she gently smoothed his stomach, mentally feeling how highly strung he was in crashing waves that threatened to overwhelm her. Remembering how she had healed his physical injuries the day previously, she asked, knowing that his mental injuries, however well he had hidden them from her since he had come home, would take far longer to go away if at all,

"Do you want to talk about it?"

After a moment's hesitation, he nodded against her chest, replying softly as he closed his eyes, sniffing as she curled up around him protectively, "You're the only person I can talk to… we experienced Hippolyta's planet together. I can tell you anything."

She smiled briefly as she caressed the area between his shoulder blades, letting him set the pace. He exhaled, his warm breath flowing in a burst across her chest, and said as he remembered everything that had happened to him,

"Sam… there's something I never told you or anyone… because I didn't want you to worry."

Feeling apprehensive and scared, she asked, now rubbing his shoulder, "What is it?"

He sat up and replied, his breaths coming quicker once more as she sat up, putting her arms around him, "I was raped… on the Isle…"

Horrified, she heard him cry, his entire body shuddering with sobs, and she held him between her legs, holding him tightly against herself. She smoothed his hair back, the back of his head resting against her shoulder, and she asked, feeling his pain as well as her own,

"Daniel… oh God, Daniel… why didn't you tell me?"

He replied quietly, looking so vulnerable, "Because you were already upset and stressed out. I didn't want you to worry about me like that."

"So much for being able to tell me anything… I wish you'd told me." She sounded choked. "You let me touch you after… after that?!"

He turned in her embrace, kneeling in front of her as he caressed her cheek and her hair, replying, "No Sam. You, I trust. No matter what, I trust you… and it helped. I'm sorry for not telling you but… you've got enough on your plate without having to worry about me."

Tears in her eyes, she held his face in her hands, saying emphatically, "Daniel, I need to worry about you… it means that you're telling me things that you're supposed to… that you're not alone. I can't believe Dad let you go through that."

"I don't think he was there when… _that_ happened. Amphitrite was a recent addition to the Queen's retinue."

"Still… If I was there, I wouldn't have spared a single Amazon." His gaze dropped, and she asked, directing her anger at the Isle of the Blessed, "Who was it? Who did it?"

"Astydameia."

She closed her eyes, wishing she had known earlier so she could have avenged the insult to her husband, the iniquities performed on him by the Queen of a band of Amazons. She held him against her as he rested his head on her shoulder, kissing her neck, and she whispered, closing her eyes as she finally understood why he had insisted on taking charge in some of their lovemaking sessions since his return,

"You're going to be ok, Daniel."

He nodded, saying as she lie down with him, his head against her bosom, "I wish you'd been here like this the last time I had lost my memories. You've been great, Sam… wonderful. I can't thank you enough."

"You don't need to thank me. You're my husband, my team-mate, my best friend, and the father… and _mother_ of my children." She kissed him. "I was scared when it was like a re-run of Vis Uban."

He kissed her, whispering as his fingers traced her lips, "I knew. Despite everything… I knew that there was a stronger connection between us. I had dreams about you… about our babies… and the team." He sighed, closing his eyes as her fingers wandered his hair. "I felt dirty. I had a nightmare of Hathor after it happened the first time. I didn't know who she was then, obviously… but…"

He released a shuddering breath, and she said, gazing down at him as she ran her hand slowly up and down his bicep, "Daniel… I need you to tell me whenever you need space. You keep hiding things from me with our link, which is somewhat ironic… Just tell me, ok?"

He nodded, whispering against her shoulder, "I promise."

"And… I want you to set the pace when we make love."

"Sam…"

"No, it's important. You have to feel in control again. I want you to." She chuckled humourlessly as she recalled a particularly traumatic event in their past that had ultimately brought them together. "I remember when we were pregnant with Cammie and James, and we told each other how we felt, Carolyn advised that we took turns taking control of the situation. It helped, didn't it?"

He nodded again, this time after a few moments hesitation, and she exhaled, hoping that he would be ok as she held onto him, looking up at the ceiling as she ran her fingers through his hair and up and down his back.

"I'm here for you Daniel… always."

She felt wetness on his shoulder as she felt his anguish, and she kissed him, continuing, "I love you. I love you so much. After everything we've been through, still with the promise of more to come, you're still the man I fell in love with."

She gently lifted his head so she could see his face, and she dried his tears, kissing them away. He touched her cheek and her hair, replying in a trembling voice,

"I love you too, fy Gwenhwyfar. You saved my soul. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have come home. I was scared."

"I know." She cupped his jaw. "You're safe now. When I resign, we can be normal… or relatively normal at least. We'll be seeing a lot more of each other."

"Mitchell's going to chase you for all eternity."

"He'll understand… and besides, I think he'll be glad to have his command back. Teal'c will most likely endure most of Cam's wrath what with him finally moving places with Ish'ta." She sighed. "I'm going to miss him when he goes."

He stroked her shoulder. "Jack's not going to let him go in a hurry. He'll probably try and get President McAndrews to grant a special dispensation to Ish'ta… and if need be, the Hak'tyl too, to stay here."

She laughed quietly, remarking, "Like that's going to happen. Hayes would have given it in a heartbeat… but McAndrews… he hasn't had as much experience. It's still sinking in."

She smoothed his stomach and he said, "Well… at least Mitchell will still have Jonas and Vala."

"Yeah… nothing wrong with a three-man team. It's been done before."

They exchanged a look, and he said quietly, "It won't be the same and you know it. Egos aside, SG-1 is ourselves, Teal'c and Jack. Jack couldn't let go of it… and he still can't. I don't think we'll be able to either."

She sighed, whispering, "It's going to be hard, but I'm prepared for it. How about you?"

"There's only so much preparing we can do."

"I wonder who they'll have as base commander when I go. Maybe Reynolds…"

"I think so. The alien threat's greatly reduced now. It's just maintaining diplomatic and trade relationships with our allies, exploration and research, and helping the Jaffa out. There's no emergency of the week, or even day… any more. No mysterious or otherwise aliens infiltrating the base… no threats to Earth. We've fulfilled our standing orders."

"Wow."

"Exactly."

She gazed at him in the darkness, saying as she played with his hair, "We've done so much these past fifteen years, and still managed to have a family. I never thought we'd come so far when we first started out, and then again when the Ori situation developed."

He nodded in agreement, replying quietly, "Me too." He propped himself above her, whispering as he kissed her lips, "And I'm glad to have had you every step of the way, to have been by your side for most of the journey."

Smiling slightly, she looped an arm around his neck, bringing his lips down to hers as she replied, feeling totally happy, "And I would have to say the same thing to you, my beautiful Galahad."

--------------------

Sam woke up again, this time in the light of day, in a warm embrace she'd know with her eyes closed. She smiled, snuggling into said embrace with a contented almost purr – Air Force Colonels, particularly base commanders, didn't purr, she reminded herself – and felt the arms around her shift slowly, the slow puffs of breath against her shoulder quickening.

She turned over in his embrace, still smiling, and watched Daniel's eyes flickered open, his irises a darker blue as they usually were on waking, and he smiled, saying drowsily, "Hey."

She ruffled his hair affectionately, remarking, "Hey yourself."

He kissed her and said with a carefree smile that took years off his appearance, burying his nose in her hair, "I'm hungry."

'_For what?_'

He laughed at her mischievous smile, and he replied silently, '_Both._'

'_Ohh… I think we could manage one more. We've still got to get the blue eyed horde from Mitchell. He wanted to come over but I said that it was ok… we've got the car for it._'

Grinning, he held her tightly and rolled her beneath him as she shrieked with laughter, jokingly hitting his shoulder in mock-protest, and he made love to her, surprising her with his speed and efficiency.

'_Mmm… I know what we'll be doing when all our children are in grade school._'

She laughed as he silently asked, his lips doing wonderful things to her… well… she wasn't sure of names in her heady state of ecstasy, '_What?_'


	34. Resignation

Sam, at the mountain and having spotted Jack emerging from the Commissary, called as she jogged towards him, "Sir!"

The General said a few words to Siler, the Sergeant nodding and walking away, and Jack remarked to Sam, patting her on the shoulder, "Carter! That's good… those mysterious aliens aren't back 'cos we recognise each other… I hope. Anyway…" He put an arm around her and asked as they began to walk down a corridor,

"What's up?"

She nodded, not sure how to say what she had wanted to say, and then she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a white envelope, "Sir…" His arm dropped, his face a blank mask as she looked down at the envelope, turning it over in her hands. She looked at him, "I regretfully tender my resignation as base commander and team lead."

She tried to hand him the envelope but he pushed it back towards her, saying, his eyebrows rising slowly, "Hell, no."

Eventually giving up trying to give him her letter, she sighed and said, looking sad, "Sir… I…"

He grabbed her forearm and hissed, cutting her off, "Not here."

He led her into her empty lab, locking the door behind him, and he said in a no nonsense tone, folding his arms across his chest as he watched her leaning back against the front of her lab table, facing him, "Ok. Spill."

She sighed and said after a pause, "I'm sorry Sir, but I can't any more. I keep losing Daniel and…"

"Been there, done that."

He smiled, little warmth behind it, and she nodded, and continued, "We both want a chance at a normal life, or at least a relatively normal one. We've been lucky so far, but I don't want to keep risking it. I was thinking about it before he died… again, but that death really got me thinking even more about how… how we're not needed any more." She speeded up so he couldn't interrupt. "There's no threat against the planet now. We worked together for fifteen years and come through…well, everything. To be honest, knowing what I know now, if I had a choice, I would do it all over again. But now…" She shook her head. "I've got to think about him, I've got to think about our babies. Don't get me wrong, we both love our work but…"

He asked, a little annoyed, "Did you make the decision off your own back or…?"

Annoyed that he was implying that she was a control freak, she stood up and said, "No! With all respect Sir, we made the decision together, as a couple. For cryin' out loud, Daniel's already resigned! You confronted him about it before our last adventure… Sir."

"Well… yeah, but he came back and I never filed the damn thing." He sighed, rubbing his eyes briefly, looking weary, "Carter, look… I respect your decision, but it's very important that you don't go. I'm no genius, but there aren't only going to be three… well, five counting Atlantis, big baddies in an entire Universe."

He exhaled sharply and continued, clenching and unclenching his fists in frustration, "You do realise that while you're busy being the Brady Bunch, and while Teal'c and Ish'ta are re-enacting Smackdown for WWE Hak'tyl, this planet is gonna get a toasting. I respect Mitchell's abilities as an officer, but you, Daniel and Teal'c have years of field experience that can't be duplicated. It's irreplaceable."

She said apologetically, "Sorry Sir… but it's time for us all to move on. Our work is done. It's like the way we were, almost, after the Goa'uld and before the Ori. We can't keep waiting for the bad guys." She sighed. "If there's another threat, we'll be there, but for the time being, we have to get on with our lives."

He looked at her, looking increasingly regretful, and then he said with a resigned sigh, "It's been damn fine working with you… Ok… We'll talk later. We've got the Chiefs of Staff paying a visit and…"

Surprised, she said, raising a hand, "With all due respect Sir, the Chiefs aren't visiting until next week. Surely…"

He waved dismissively and remarked, "They couldn't wait. Y'see, we're too interesting for them."

She cocked her head as she watched him, puzzled at not feeling anything from him, and he continued, rubbing his hands together, "So… you know what that means… itchy, stiff, starchy blue medieval torture suits. Report to the gateroom with your team in two hours, Colonel."

"Yes Sir."

"Damn spoilsport."

"Sir?!"

He stepped towards her and replied, "Well, you are. I mean, come on, we all wouldn't have met if it hadn't been for this place. This ol' mountain's changed everyone's lives. You're going to be bored… you'll be pulling that TV apart, and I'll bet dollars to doughnuts that Cammie and James will be able to put it back together again and you'll have field-stripping contests… not the type your husband practices." His expression softened and he hugged her as she said, her eyes moist as she recalled the days when he had been in command of the team,

"I'm going to miss all of this… it won't be the same."


	35. Unexpected

'_Daniel… why can't I feel anything from you?_'

Sam turned in Daniel's embrace to look at him as they stood in his office during a quiet moment, and he replied silently with a shrug, '_It happens from time to time when we're a little stressed. We'll be alright later._'

She smiled on feeling mischief from him, and she gently slid her fingertips up and down his neck, feeling his delightful shivers, and she kissed him. He kissed her back, the fingers of one hand tangled in her long hair as they lost themselves in the embrace, feeling each other's feelings as well as their own.

They pulled back, panting softly, and he glanced at a nearby clock, saying as he tried to focus, "Uh… we've got a half hour 'til… the thing with… the…"

She smiled in amusement and rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her, both of them catching their breaths back, and he kissed her hair.

'_I know, honey. Ok… military mode. Jackson, let's go._'

'_Righty-oh, Colonel._'

Neither of them moved as they gazed at each other with little smiles, and they kissed once again, the Astrophysicist silently remarking, '_We'll be stormed by SG-3 if we're late._'

'_Or SG-1 mark II._'

'_Your ego's cute._'

--------------------

Sam led her team, her and Cam in dress blues and the others in suits and formal clothes, into the gateroom and was perplexed when Walter announced her arrival from the control room. She frowned in confusion when she didn't see any of the Chiefs of Staff, but Uncle George, General Landry, Sara, McKay and Carson, and the entire military complement of Cheyenne Mountain. In her confusion she spotted discreet pulses of white light shoot up a wall, and she turned to look at Cam, who shrugged, his face neutral.

'_Daniel?_'

'_Not a clue._'

She looked at Daniel oddly, realising that he knew something but wasn't letting on. Sighing quietly, she noticed a podium set up on the gateramp, and decided to wait, noticing that the others appeared to be quietly waiting for someone or something.

A few moments later, Jack strolled in, the military personnel standing to attention until he ordered them to be at ease, and Sam was about to ask the General what was going on when, with a twinkle in his eye, he walked straight to the podium.

He shuffled some papers, cleared his throat, and began, looking at his audience, "It's certainly been a long time since I did this, and to tell you the truth, I've missed it." He nodded. "Well… I may have mentioned to one or two of you…" he glanced at a sceptical Sam, "… that the Chiefs of Staff were coming over, but they aren't. I lied. What we're having today is a lot more interesting than that, fun too." There was a smattering of laughter.

He raised his eyebrows briefly and continued, "I've known Carter for a long time, since the birth of this mountain before many of you started… well before in cases. George was on his last tour and then got thrown into this rollercoaster, and the man's never regretted it.

"I won't embarrass Carter any more by talking about how she shot me down about my apparent disrespect for scientists when we first met, or the times she got caught in a little cultural trouble off-world that ended up with her wearing some dress that she'd rather blow up." More laughter as Sam looked down at her feet, inwardly brainstorming ways to harm her former CO.

"I've watched her grow from an argumentative albeit highly capable Captain to an even more highly capable and still argumentative not forgetting downright stubborn Colonel, and commander of SG-1 and of this base. I have served in the Air Force for over thirty-five years now… I've seen a lot of the world, and beyond, served with hundreds if not thousands of people, but Carter has got to be the finest I've ever served with. I'm not great with words, but I couldn't think of anyone better than her, along with Daniel and Teal'c, watching my back in a hostile situation off-world."

"So…" He smirked and said, looking at Sam as Walter, in dress blues too, appeared at his side, "Colonel. In light of… well, everything, you are hereby promoted to Brigadier-General. Congratulations."

There was a round of applause as Sam stood there, feeling aghast and stunned. Cam patted her on the shoulder, grinning as Teal'c smirked, Jonas and Vala grinning and whispering their congratulations. Daniel whispered silently, his hand discreetly on her lower back,

'_You deserve it, Sam. You always have. Congratulations._'

'_I'm… I'm a General… oh my God…_'

A still smirking Jack gestured for her to join him at the podium, and as she did so, he said, "Congratulations, Carter."

The news still sinking in, she replied, "Uh… thanks, Sir."

He rolled his eyes and said in warning, "Carter…"

She smiled, bemused, and said, "Sorry… Jack."

"Better. Ready?"

"I guess."

As Jack affixed Sam's new insignia to her uniform, Walter read out the President's commendation, "The President of these United States has placed immense trust and confidence in the patriotism, integrity, courage, leadership and abilities, far above and beyond the call of duty, in the face of otherwise insurmountable odds, of Colonel Samantha Carter-Jackson. Colonel Samantha Carter-Jackson is hereby promoted to the grade of Brigadier-General, United States Air Force."

When Jack had finished, Sam saluted him, smiling slightly as he saluted back, and the two Generals shook hands.

--------------------

Back in civilian clothes, Sam exhaled as she leaned against the front of her desk, looking around her office. She looked at Jack, seated in front of her and asked,

"You want me to stay as base commander?"

Jack replied with a little smirk, "Yep. I knew you were quitting, by the way… and to tell the truth, I don't want you to quit SG-1 but you're right about moving on. _This_… " he gestured to his immediate vicinity, "… this is moving on. You need the mountain. And besides, the hours are great."

"I'll miss the team Sir… uh, I mean, Jack."

"Yeah… you'll never get over that, believe me _but_ you can bend the rules… you know, I do it all the time."

She smiled, and he continued, standing up and patting her on the shoulder, "Well, my work here is done. Sara and I are off back to D.C."

Sad, she asked, pushing herself off the front of her desk, "Already?"

"Yeah… we've been cooking today for a long while."

They hugged and she asked, "Are you going to see Daniel and the babies before you go?"

"Like I need asking, Carter."

She smiled slightly and asked, an eyebrow rising briefly, "Are you going to stop calling me 'Carter'?"

"Hell no."

--------------------

After Jack had left the office, Sam went back to the leaning against the front of her desk, looking up at the ceiling, and she released a long breath.

"Well… General Kiddo. Congratulations."

She straightened up in surprise to see a smirking Jacob in front of her, dressed in white. She smiled and remarked shakily,

"I… I'm never sure if I can hug you."

"You won't know if you don't try."

The Carters hugged, and she asked, happy to see him, "Dad, what are you doing here?"

"I've come to see my daughter get to General. It's… it's so much more than I wanted for you. Well, the SGC is that anyway, but _General_. You must know that it's hard for a _man_ to become General… but for a woman…" He exhaled. "That's more than pretty damn good going." He grinned, "And it's a Carter who set the record."

He patted her on the shoulder. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world… or the Universe…"

She smiled on remembering the pulses of white light that only she had apparently seen in the gateroom earlier, and he continued, looking at his daughter proudly, "I'm really, really proud of you. You've worked so hard and given so much to the programme, to your duties… to everything. You've done so well. And you'll never guess who else was there."

She asked, "Selmak?"

"And… two of your husbands, two of my grandkids, and the rest of that old team."

Touched, she pressed her lips together for a moment to stop herself from getting tearful, and then she asked, looking around her office, "Where are they?"

"Oh… somewhere up… there." He gazed at her solemnly, "It's hard on both parties. It's bad enough with me coming in and out of your life… and then there's the ascended Jacksons, at least, being tortured by glimpses of a life that they couldn't have."

"I know, Dad. I just want to know that they're all alright. Cammie and James need their Mom, and the Daniels are on their own."

"They're fine." He touched her cheek. "I don't know what to say… they might drop in when they feel like it. You know what those Jacksons are like." They both smiled knowingly, their smiles fading after a moment. "They really are fine. Being out of body like this helps to put things into perspective."

She sighed and pushed herself from her desk, standing away from her it as she said, her arms folded across her chest as she remembered losing Daniel, "Dad…" She blinked back oncoming tears and asked,

"Why didn't you do anything? You could have…" she shrugged in growing frustration, "I don't know, done _something_. Daniel was out there all by himself. You aren't human any more. You could have…"

Concerned and feeling guilty, he said, "Sammy. I can't tell you how sorry I am about that. You had to find him and bring him home. I couldn't do anything… my powers wouldn't work otherwise believe me, I would have got him out."

Angry, she said, turning on him, "Astydameia raped him, Dad. Surely you would have known that? You could have stopped it."

"I told you I couldn't do anything and that I had to be in disguise. I'm so sorry. All I could do was to be there for him. Do you honestly think that had I had the choice that I would have let it happen? He's my son-in-law… I know, traditionally, I'm supposed to hate him, but I like him, a lot, and he makes you happy."

He touched her cheek, making her meet his gaze as he said sincerely, "Sam, listen to me. If I could have, I would have saved him. All I could do then was to be there for him, to make sure that he wasn't alone, even if he didn't know who he was. I knew you'd come."

He watched as she began to cry, and he held her in his arms, soothing her.

She straightened up, drying her eyes, and said with a sigh, looking at the floor as he slowly let her go, "I'm sorry, Dad. I guess I've just kept that in for a little while."

He smiled, gently lifting her chin as he said, "That's ok, kiddo. If I was you, I'd do the same."

She smiled back and kissed him on the cheek, saying, her voice wobbly, "Thanks Dad."

--------------------

"I like leave."

Later that night, after the kids had been settled and the O'Neills had jetted off back to D.C., Sam turned over in bed to look at Daniel, and remarked with a smile as she traced patterns on his naked chest,

"I bet you do. Me too. The nights in particular are amazing."

"Hmm, afternoons too."

He smiled, touching the tip of her nose affectionately, and he said, caressing her shoulder, "I don't think I've ever heard of a female General before."

"Neither have I. Not many _men_ get that far so… well, you can imagine, especially taking into consideration that women have only been allowed to serve in the Air Force for decades now, and plus they take time out to have babies and sometimes don't go back."

He exhaled as he looked at the ceiling, "I always had a feeling we'd be drawn back to the mountain somehow. I guess I should be happy that I'll get more time for translations now I don't have to go off-world."

"Cam's pissed though. It took so much work for him to get us all back together again."

"Well, he got six years out of us, give or take. Five with Vala and four and a half with Jonas." He grimaced. "Yeah, that isn't long."

Nothing was said for a moment and then she placed a hand on his chest. He looked at her and she said as he stroked her waist and she, his stomach,

"I… I called the President today. He agrees with me about… you know…"

She looked at him meaningfully, and he narrowed his eyes slightly and said with a nod, "Yep… it makes sense."

They smiled as they kissed, and he remarked with a groan as he stroked her cheek, "I could never get tired of that."

"I hope not. You're stuck with me."

He held her in his arms as he kissed her neck and he replied, "I wouldn't have it any other way, General."

They sighed happily, enjoying the embrace as she put an arm across his stomach, and he said suddenly, raising his head, "I could help you look for that Ancient."

She asked, tracing his jaw line with a thumb, "You can do that?"

"I can try… the Star's inside you, and you've got all these powers plus a lot of Ancient knowledge that I didn't give you. He or she's bound to be in there somewhere."

She grimaced. "That sounds weird."

He chuckled, muttering as he feigned exasperation, "Working at the SGC for fifteen years and experiencing unspeakable, unimaginable things, and she calls _this_ weird…"

She laughed in amusement as he began to pout, and she kissed him, remarking, "You're so cute when you're grumbling."

"Well… I'd say you're hot but that doesn't do you justice."

"Are you trying to seduce me, Doctor Jackson?"

He retorted with a grin, feigning innocence, "Are you refusing, General Jackson?"

They chuckled, and he asked, now looking serious, "Are you ready?"

Realising what he meant, she replied with a nod as she smoothed his stomach, "Yeah. Go ahead."

Lying face to face with her, he placed a hand on her head, his thumb massaging his temple and he closed his eyes, gradually immersing himself into her mind.

--------------------

Daniel held Sam's hand as they both looked up and around them, glowing balls of white, yellow, blue, pink, green and lilac light floating softly around them. She looked up at him and asked, worried as well as curious,

"Daniel?"

She smiled when she saw the expression on his face, the one that Jack always referred to as the Heliopolis face, the Archaeologist having sported a similar gawp on seeing the projections in the library room all those years ago. She stroked the hand she held and he looked at her distractedly, saying,

"Uh… I don't know."

She watched him as he went back to gawping, and then he lifted his free hand, capturing an orb of light in its palm. Glancing at her, he lowered his hand so they both could gaze at it, and she whispered in awe as they saw within it the unimaginable depths of eternity,

"What is it?"

His face began glow with a soft white light and he replied as he smiled at her, "It's our ride, General Carter-Jackson."

He turned to face her fully and held the orb in front of him. Instinctively, she placed her hand over it slowly, and he said, his irises iridescent, the breathtaking blue accentuated,

"Just think about where we want to go."

She looked down at their clasped hands and then up at him, nodding silently. He gently brushed her cheek with his other hand, having let go of the hand that he had been holding initially, and they became engulfed in a slow burst of bluish white light. They looked at each other and then straight up as they became completely engulfed and the large light mass shot upwards.


	36. Elena

In the darkness, Daniel stood alone. Panicking on realising this, he looked around, calling, "Sam!" but to no avail. Finding nothing or no-one, he closed his eyes, searching for his wife with his mind. He felt her very faintly, which he found odd considering that they were supposed to have been in her mind. When he tried to home in on her, he felt his mind being pushed back, stopping him.

Forcing himself to be calm, he sighed and opened his eyes again. He frowned on hearing the sound of heavy breathing and he called, looking around once again and wishing fleetingly that he had a 9mm and the rest of SG-1 with him,

"Hello?"

He heard gasps between each breath and cautiously followed the sounds, wondering how he was going to get his wife back, and where he had ended up. Unsure of whether Sam could feel him even if he couldn't her, he said silently,

'_It's ok, honey… we'll get out of this. I'm not leaving without you._'

The sounds became considerably louder and he raised a hand, an orb of white light slowly rising above him to illuminate his surroundings, and he gaped on seeing a dark-haired bedraggled woman in rags slumped on the ground against a dank wall, her arms chained above her in shackles, her legs shackled together on the floor in front of her.

Horrified, he immediately kneeled in front of the woman, and reached out to feel her pulse. He felt what seemed to him like a short zat bolt to his fingers and he recoiled, grimacing at the short albeit intense stab of pain. The woman raised her head slowly and opened her eyes, revealing one to be of a striking green, the other of an equally striking blue. He asked, concerned,

"What happened here? Why are you shackled? Where am I?"

She slowly smiled as she gazed at him and then closed her eyes, feeling weak. She said in an evenly modulated voice, her head bowed, her breaths coming in short, ragged bursts,

"You're much better looking than I thought you would be."

She raised her head again and looked at him. "Galahad, the Guardian… 'The one who cannot be judged.'"

She began to cough violently and he, tentatively at first, smoothed her upper back, whispering, "Easy."

She nodded, closing her eyes as she rested her head back against the wall as he experienced another zat bolt-like sensation on touching her shackles. She whispered as he moved his hand away, her eyes half-open,

"You want to know who I am. You're curious as to why I am imprisoned within your bride."

He stared at her in surprise, and asked, "Who are you?"

She smiled weakly and replied, "The first."

"The first what?"

"The first, Galahad. I am the one whom you seek. I am the first to ascend." She spluttered, and her voice hoarse, she continued, smiling slightly as she gazed at him, "The one whom reveals Perfect Mysteries; the Mother, the Left Hand, the one who wanders, Elena the moon. Some refer to me as Chokma, others, Sophia."

His eyes widened in surprise and he exclaimed at almost mach speeds, unable to believe his ears and wishing that Sam was there so he could share his discovery with her, "One of the four cardinal virtues of Plato… the Greek concept of wisdom, the female aspect of the Judaic god. The bride of Christ in Gnosticism… Uh, you represent the Virgin Mary in Eastern Orthodox traditions… one half of the last and lowest incarnation of the Gnostic concept of god."

She watched him with a little smile and she replied, her voice a little stronger, "I see what draws Samantha's affections." Her smile faded for a moment. "I wish I could touch you." She sighed, her head leaning forward ever so slightly. "Those descriptions of me are merely roles attributed to myself in Earth mythology. I represent prudence and justice."

Completely agape now, he said, "They're two of Plato's cardinal virtues."

"I am but one half."

He looked around the otherwise empty cell and asked when he looked back at her, "Where's the… other half?"

"He is kneeling before me."

Stunned, he stared at her, the pieces slowly slotting into place in his mind, and he asked, "I… I'm temperance and fortitude?"

She smiled briefly. "I have been waiting for you, Daniel Jackson, for so long." She coughed. "I tried to emerge by myself but was incarcerated. You see…" She gazed at him fully, squinting in the light of the orb that still hovered high above them, "I am your left hand and you are my right hand."

He shook himself out of his daze and said, shaking his head as he sensed a pick-up line, "No… I'm married, very happily married. I'm sorry."

She smiled at him again. "My faithful Galahad. You do not understand yet. I am within Samantha. I am a part of her. I have been imprisoned for so long – that is why she has not been able to reach her full potential yet. I am the source of her power."

"You co-exist with her?"

"Oh, it is so much more than that. Fear not, it is not the same as the Goa'uld."

He frowned slightly, and she continued with a little smile, "You are within Samantha's mind – do you believe that I cannot feel you or hear your thoughts? I hear them now. You seek your bride and yearn for knowledge… yet you fear. There is nothing to fear, Daniel. Samantha is here, she is all around you. To free her, you must free her heart."

He asked sceptically, "_You're_ her heart?"

"I am her core. Do you not wonder why she cannot misrepresent the truth except with great difficulty or training?"

He closed his eyes and shook his head. He said, his eyes open, his voice wobbling slightly, "Where's my wife? Where's Sam?"

She remarked, amused despite her weak state, "Oh… sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees because you're so worried about the one you love."

He frowned at her use of contractions once again, and she said quietly, looking at him, her smile gone, "Daniel, just one thing… just one little thing. Undo my shackles."

He shook his head, looking at her cautiously as he said, getting up, "This could all be a trap. I'm not going to risk Sam's life or wellbeing."

"Yet by leaving me, you will do the latter." She shrugged, instantly regretting the action due to her stiff shoulders. "You wanted the Ancient at the heart of the Star of Ma'at… you've got her. From the dawn of creation, I became imprisoned within the Star because I was incomplete. You are the Guardian, the father of the Duality – there is no ascended being more powerful or higher than you. Samantha is safe. I pose no threat to either of you."

He kneeled before her once again, and she said, looking straight into his eyes, "Only you can free me. And if I happened to be malevolent, by the ancient customs of Earth, I would owe you a debt for freeing me and I would be bound to not harm you or your kin."

He rolled his eyes, remarking in indignance, "_Great_… you'll just destroy Earth and half the Milky Way."

"Daniel, did anyone tell you that you're surprisingly cute when you're grumpy?"

He frowned once again and opened his mouth to speak when she cut him off, saying by way of explanation of her sporadic use of contractions, "Thus proof that I am part of Samantha. I know her, her life… you. Samantha has greater knowledge of you than you yourself have. You are only here because Samantha is truly happy and is knowledgeable of her happiness. Recently, my strength has grown because of that."

He sighed and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

"Clear your mind and the answer will come, just like it always has. Like Atlantis."

He stood and raised his hands over her shackles, his hands glowing, and she remarked, looking up at him, wincing because of the action, "My, you're more powerful than I thought too… but you would do anything for Samantha She is an incredibly lucky woman."

As he focussed on his task, he said softly, "Sophia. When I was a young man studying different mythologies, I always wondered whether you really existed at some point in time. You're pervasive in so many cultures and traditions, in so many stories…"

He smiled slightly. "Heracles and Deianeira, Theseus and Ariadne, Andromeda and Perseus, Persephone and Hades, St George, the Crétien de Troyes versions of the Knights of the Round Table stories. Through tens of thousands of years of civilisation, you've been denigrated to a damsel in distress… a pretty albeit weak and defenceless girl that gets imprisoned and needs a knight in shining armour to release her from the jaws of death.

"You are so much more than that. It's sad that to enforce paternalism, men throughout history have felt compelled to belittle women in order to make themselves look better. Despite this, the suppression wasn't all-pervasive… some stories have survived, and cultures exist now where women are the dominant sex although it's just the other extreme from paternalism."

She smiled up at him, remarking, her voice not as hoarse previously, "It amuses Samantha when you talk at high speeds about something you are passionate about. She finds it endearing too."

With a huge clattering, both sets of shackles opened, bursting into white flame. As he watched, she rose, dressed in glowing white, her appearance markedly different, chiefly cleaner and healthier looking, and she smiled at him as he stared at her, agape once again. She touched his cheek and then gently kissed him, whispering with a smile,

"Thank you, Galahad mine. Thank you."


	37. Gnosis

Sophia rose to the ceiling, converting into the purest white light as Daniel stared up at her in amazement, and the light spread across the ceiling and down the walls until he was surrounded completely by white. He, worried, looked around himself, calling her name.

He closed his eyes, focussing on his wife and he smiled in relief when he felt her much stronger than he had the last time he had tried. He mentally reached out to her and then opened his eyes as she slowly appeared before him in a burst of bluish white light. Overwhelmingly relieved, he wrapped his arms around her tightly, saying with a laugh, tears in his eyes,

"Sam! I thought I'd lost you."

She put her own arms around him, replying as she smoothed the hair around his ear, "I'm here, Daniel… I'm here. I always was."

He pulled back enough to see her face and he touched it, saying in awe as he checked her over, "You won't believe who I just met."

She smiled in amusement, remarking, "You know what it does to me when you rival mach speeds, _temperance and fortitude_."

He frowned in confusion, and she continued, "You're in my mind, Daniel… of course I know what happened."

They kissed, and she said softly, "You were willing to walk away, even if it meant not seeing me again, if Sophia turned out to be evil."

"I didn't want to."

"I know."

Smiling, she ran her fingers through his hair and then held his hands, remarking, "It's my turn to drive, Galahad."

--------------------

After checking in on their children, Daniel, still excited, sat on the end of their bed and said, practically bouncing, "I can't believe it. I really can't believe it."

He turned to her and grinned as she looked amused. "The heart of the Star of Ma'at is Sophia. Ohh… you have no idea what this could mean."

"Daniel… you're not God."

"I know. It's just that the first Ancient to ascend was Sophia, the personification of wisdom."

She rested her head on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him as he put an arm around her, and she said with a smile, gazing up at him, "You freed her… just by being you." Her smile widened as she touched his jaw, "No more doubts about how much I love you and how much we're meant to be together, then?"

He rested his head against hers and sighed, remarking with a little smile as he gazed at her lovingly, "Only if you don't doubt the way I feel about you."

"Deal."

"Deal."

They heard the front door open downstairs and they glanced at each other before getting up. She smoothed the small of his back beneath his t-shirt and said with a smile, patting his boxer clad backside,

"Come on, let's go play parents to a twenty-something."

"Well, _you're_ old enough for it."

Amused as he looked cheeky, she remarked, hitting him across the chest as they left the room, "Keep that up, and you're going to be frowning for a long, long time."

Suddenly they both paused, staring at each other in surprise as they sensed something, and she said, shaking her head, "That isn't Cassie."

--------------------

They descended the stairs in confusion and appeared in the now lit lounge to find none other than Mark Carter in the kitchen. Blinking in surprise at the sight, Sam asked,

"Mark?!"

Mark turned to the Jacksons from opening the fridge, and said with a smile, "Hey Sammy."

The two Carters hugged, Mark patting Daniel on the shoulder, and Sam asked her brother, "Is there any particular reason why you're opening our fridge in the small hours?"

Mark replied, "Well… I _might_ have felt guilty about the things I said and did these past couple of years. I was hoping to surprise you but apparently you two are night owls."

Daniel, realising that Sam and Mark needed to talk things out, said, "Hey… you two go in the lounge and I'll sort out the coffee."

Sam squeezed his bicep in gratitude and led her brother in the lounge, whispering silently, '_Thanks Daniel… but I don't mind you being here._'

'_No… but I'm not your brother. It's Carter family business._'

'_It affects you as well – he's annoyed at us not telling him that he was an uncle on two occasions… they're your kids too.'_

'_He doesn't need me there, Sam. I'm here if you need me.'_

Sam and Mark sat down on the couch, the former on an arm as the latter sat down, and he said, "Sam… I really am sorry. I was on my way to Kansas for a case when I got to thinking about how Dad never got to tell Mom how he felt about her, and how he lost her… how we all lost her… and lost our chances to tell her just how much she meant to us."

He put his head in his hands and she smoothed the back of his head, saying softly, "I understand why you're mad. We should have told you… and had we been in a circumstance to tell you, we would have. We didn't deliberately leave you out of the loop."

He shook his head and looked up at her, replying, "You had your reasons, I know. I just came here tonight to tell you that…" He swallowed, remarking in awkwardness, "This is hard enough as it is especially seeing I used to call you mouldilocks and smelly pants…" She smiled and he continued, looking up at her, "What I'm trying to say is that I wouldn't trade you in for the world. You mean a lot to me. You've grown up so fast and whilst other guys' sisters needed rescuing and protecting, you never did. You were always the brother I never had."

She remarked with a smile, kissing the top of his head, "You too, mouldy pants."

Daniel entered with coffee and silently left, and Mark asked, "How are my nieces and nephews?"

She smiled, replying, "Great… just great. How are mine?"

"The usual."

"You should have brought them… you know, during daylight. Cammie and James will have forgotten them by now… and Claire, Jake and Grace have never met them."

He remarked, "I can't believe you called your son Jake."

She shrugged and replied, "He was my Dad too."

"It's just that it'll be confusing with two Jakes."

"Only if you want to be uncle again."

He held her hand and grimaced at the memory of his behaviour, and he asked, looking up at her earnestly, "Did I ever stop? I sent them cards for every birthday. I sent you that box…" He shuddered, and said quietly,

"I can't believe Mom was seeing Daniel's Dad… that still hasn't sunk in yet."

"Ditto. It's weird, but… but I guess Mom had her reasons, Daniel's Dad too. Our Mom and Dad really did love each other though. The things we saw… you couldn't fake that."

They both smiled as they remembered happier times between their parents, and he asked, "Do you remember when Mom kissed Santa Claus and Uncle Isaac joked that Mom was a harlot… and we didn't know what that meant?"

She chuckled, and asked, "Do you remembered one Valentines' when Mom found a huge bouquet of roses on the kitchen table and wouldn't stop grinning for the entire day?" Their smiles faded. "They loved each other… but it got complicated."

She smoothed the back of his head again and said with a little smile, "I'm glad you came by… although I wish you'd done it during the day. I want the babies to know their uncle."

As if on cue they heard Grace crying upstairs and, as Daniel emerged from the kitchen, Sam said, taking Mark's hand, "Come on, come see niece number three at her all-time best."

The Carters ascended the stairs, leaving an amused Daniel behind, and Sam led her brother into Grace's room, where the baby was throwing her arms and legs up and down and screaming at the top of her voice. Mark remarked as Sam picked Grace up,

"Just like dearest Mommy."

"I'd elbow you, mouldy pants, but I don't want to risk my daughter's life."

He smiled and watched as Sam soothed a grumpy Grace. She asked, checking the baby's nappy, "What's wrong, sweetie? Is it your diapy again?"

Grace's cries died down into whimpers as Sam frowned slightly on ruling the nappy out. Sam rolled her eyes and remarked,

"You've eaten already…" She tickled the baby's stomach teasingly, "Any more and you'll burst out of your suit and then you'll have to sleep in Claire's bed because you'll be too big for your crib."

Grace gurgled and Sam unbuttoned the top buttons of her shirt and turned away from her now embarrassed brother, saying as she began to feed the baby, "Sorry."

Mark said, flustered, "She's seven months old… when Susan and Ellie were that age, Emmie bottle-fed them."

"I breastfed all of ours for a longer time than usual. I've tried putting Grace on bottle before now but she hates it. She's as stubborn as her father."

Mark smiled slightly, remarking, "Or her Mom."

Sam chuckled softly as she gazed down at the serene baby in her arms, and she said quietly, not wanting to disturb a for once quiet Grace, "Daniel says that too."

When she had finished feeding, having cleaned the baby up, she laid Grace back down in her crib, Mark remarking with a little laugh, "Oh, she looks stoned."

Sam smiled, and she gently touched his forearm as he gazed down at Grace. He looked at her and she said,

"I've got some news, Marky. You really aren't going to believe this."

He asked, getting ready for the extreme, "You're pregnant?"

She shook her head and replied with a proud smile, "No… I made General. You're looking at Brigadier-General Samantha Jackson."

He hugged her, surprised at the revelation, and he said quietly so as not to wake or startle a drifting Grace, "That's great news! Another Carter General… although you're going by 'Jackson'."

"I'm officially Carter-Jackson. It's just easier being 'Jackson' so that people can call me by my title and name without being there for a while."

They leaned against the crib and he remarked, amused, "I'll bet that southerner's going to be disappointed."

Confused at his mention of Cam, she asked, "Why?"

"He won't get to refer to you as 'Colonel Jackson' going up the Mississip' any more."

She smiled in amusement and surprise at him remembering that, and she took his hand, saying, "Come on, let's go see your other niece and nephew… and if you're lucky, James' radar might be on and he'll body tackle you before Cammie tells him off for being rude."

"You have some odd kids."

"And _yours_ aren't!?"


	38. The Carterisation of Jackson

"Uncle Mark… Mommy's mean."

As Daniel turned and coughed to hide a smile, the concealment becoming harder when he saw his wife's steely look in his direction, an amused Mark, glancing at his sister, asked Cammie as she sat on his knee in the lounge the next day,

"Oh… why's that?"

Cammie pouted and replied as James climbed up onto his uncle's other knee, "She won't let us have candy."

Daniel discreetly walked into the kitchen to laugh, collapsing against the worktop, and Sam said, trying very hard to be stern but failing ever so slightly as Mark looked even more amused, Grace gurgling to herself in her lap, "Cameron… you don't want cavities." She looked at James and asked,

"Do you want cavities, James?"

James offered his mother his cheekiest smile, and nodded, saying, "Yes, Mommy."

Sam rolled her eyes, grumbling about the progeny of free-spirited Archaeologists, and Mark said, looking at the owners of two pairs of suddenly angelic eyes that looked his way, "I'll tell you what…" He leaned closer to his niece and nephew, and smiled conspiratorially. "How about Uncle Mark takes you candy shopping without meany Mommy?"

Sam said, shooting her brother a glare, "Mark…"

The twins nodded eagerly and Mark stroked their cheeks as they grew excited. Sam continued, shaking her head,

"You're going to spoil them, Marky."

Mark retorted in amusement, "And they're not already spoiled by your odd group of friends?"

'_Honey, I think Mark needs this. I'll go with him, if you want._'

'_It's not that… it's just that I don't want him spoiling our elder two monsters. I thought we were past the side-effects of Carson's blooming maternal instinct, and now this… _'

'_Sam… you're over-mothering again. We both had candy when we were kids._'

'_And look how you turned out._'

'_Oh yeah… on second thoughts, let's stop him. James might end up marrying a crazy woman like I did._'

'_Hey!_'

Sam said in reply to Mark, "They'll get hyper."

"Come on, Sammy… I'm a Daddy."

"To be honest, Emmie is the scarier parent."

"Fine, take the enemy's side… traitor."

Sam chuckled and Mark asked, now serious, "So, what do you say? Can I take my nieces and nephews for a day out?"

Sam blinked in surprise and remarked sceptically, "You're going to take a couple of five year olds and a couple of two year olds out… _by yourself_?! Don't think you're taking Grace."

Mark retorted, hand on hip as he raised his eyebrows at his sister, "Well… I _was_ thinking that my lunatic mouldilocks of a sister would want to come along to make sure I don't sell her kids…" He grinned. "Come on, it'll be like old times… remember when we used to baby-sit the Deutschendorfs when we lived in New Mexico?"

Sam smiled on remembering seven small children that she and Mark had babysat together regularly for a brief time in the early eighties, and she asked, "Have you heard from any of them?"

"Oh… I heard one of them is some kind of a folk singer… another is a record producer for a small label… and another is running for congress."

"Wow." She grinned. "I loved them… they were a handful but we managed, didn't we?"

'_Ah… that explains your fondness for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I thought you were just being silly about John Denver._'

'_Don't be silly. I'm nowhere near old enough to have babysat for him._'

'_Could have fooled me._'

'_Jackson… do you really want to sing soprano?_'

'_Oh yes… it's my life's ambition in fact. Didn't you know?_'

'_I think I fathomed it after fifteen years of friendship and three years of marriage._'

Mark replied with a nostalgic smile as a whimpering Claire attempted to climb onto her mother's lap, "Yeah… but we kept 'em busy…" He looked at Sam as she helped Claire. "And you… young lady, had a military streak from a very young age. They were scared stiff of getting you pissed."

Sam chuckled at this and at hearing Daniel laugh in her head, and she sighed softly before asking, "How about if Daniel comes out with us then too? You could get to know your brother-in-law better."

Mark remarked, amused and sarcastic, "How about we drag in Cassie, and your classified combat team in too… oh, and your old CO… and Uncle George…?"

Sam retorted, matter-of-factly, her eyes twinkling nonetheless, "Well… Cassie's at work… Mitchell and Mitchell two are potty-training Mitchell three… Quinn and Quinn two are otherwise indisposed, Murray is visiting his girlfriend… Jack and Sara are in D.C., and Uncle George is on a Mediterranean cruise with his daughters."

"Forget I asked."

"Already done, Marky."

Mark said as Jake plopped down in the centre of the floor to burst into tears because no-one in his immediate vicinity was available to hold him, "I assume you have…" He stopped as Jake bawled his eyes out and as Daniel rushed in, Sam about to get up, Mark gently put James and Cammie down, and picked a stunned Jake up, saying with a smile as he dried the toddler's tears,

"Well, hello there, young man. What's all this?"

Jake immediately looked shy and began to whimper to be let down, but Sam said firmly, concerned, "Jake, it's your uncle."

Jake began to pout and looked ready to cry again, when Cammie walked up to him, kissing him on the cheek. She said as the adults smiled in amusement at the gesture,

"It's Uncle Mark, Jakey. He's Mommy's brother… like James is yours and mine and Claire's and Grace's brother."

Jake whined tearfully, "Don't like him."

Mark said, lifting the little boy up above him, "You'll like me if you get to know me better, Jakey… and you'll be drooling on me in no time like Claire."

Sam and Daniel watched as Jake looked at his uncle as though he was trying to work something out. He then asked, turning to look at Sam,

"Mommy?"

Sam asked, smiling slightly, "What is it, sweetie?"

"Is 'e your bro'er?"

Sam nodded, and Jake asked, looking thoughtful, "Like James is my bro'er?"

Sam nodded again, glancing at an equally inwardly amazed Daniel, and Mark remarked in a low voice as he looked at his sister, amazed too, "Jesus, your kids, Sam…"

Jake looked up at Mark and continued, "I like James." Mark smiled as he looked down at his youngest nephew, "… so I like you."

'_Ok, now that little man is scaring me._'

'_Oh you should have seen James when you were in Atlantis… that little man was asking questions about what was expected of him on his potty._'

'_I always wondered whether it was the Ancient thing, or whether he's just genetically predisposed to have a high IQ._'

'_If ever you want proof of nature winning out over nurture, just look at our five._'

'_Wow._'

'_That goes for the Carter craziness too._'

'_Will you drop that?!_'

'_If it gets me far… no._'

Sam glanced at Daniel, who smiled at her, feigning innocence, and she wiped the smile straight off his face by sending him a mental image of him sleeping on the couch.

--------------------

"You know… we should do this with your kids too. All nine of Mom and Dad's grandkids hanging out together."

Mark nodded in agreement as he soothed a grumpy looking Grace, replying as two Carters and a Jackson watched Cammie, James, Claire and Jake on swings, slides and see-saws at the local park. He replied,

"It'll be tough controlling them though… Mind you, Susie and Junior are mature for their ages."

Daniel asked, "Has Susie finally chosen what she wants to do at UCLA?"

Mark replied with a smile as he looked at his brother-in-law, glad that Daniel was taking a genuine interest as opposed to a cordial one, "Yeah… she's doing Astrophysics…" Sam's eyes immediately lit up as Daniel looked amused at feeling her reaction. "It's Junior's turn to choose in the fall… he's already got his mind set on Applied Math. I blame that sister of mine."

Daniel remarked with a chuckle, glancing across at his now flustered wife, "I do too. And you know who to blame if Ellie and Jake wake up one day and start endlessly scribbling down quadratic equations."

Mark and Daniel looked straight at Sam, barely containing their delight at teasing the General, and Sam shot back, "Very funny… we'll know who to blame if they start writing in Linear B."

Mark remarked, looking from his brother-in-law to his sister in bemusement, "Are you two always like this?!"

Daniel nodded and replied in unison with Sam, "Pretty much."

They glanced at each other, and Mark said, spooked, "Whoa… talk about you two being in tune with each other."

The Jacksons barely contained little knowing smiles, and Mark exhaled.

He then said, glancing at the Jacksons flanking him, and said, "I know it's early… four months to be almost precise… but what are you guys doing for Thanksgiving and Christmas?"

Sam and Daniel exchanged a little glance around Mark, and then Sam replied with a shrug, "Well… we usually have Thanksgiving with the team and our families… Christmas too. Why?"

"I was thinking that maybe… we could have a big family get-together. I'll have to talk to Emmie, but she's not going to mind if we all came up to Colorado Springs for the holiday season. It's going to be hard enough for you two to get five small children down to San Diego."

Daniel replied with a little smile, already knowing Sam's answer, "Sure."

Mark, puzzled at the lack of consultation and Sam not objecting because of it, looked at the two of them as Grace dozed off in his lap, and he asked, "Wait, you just made a decision without Sam's input? Hang on… why aren't _you_ threatening his manhood?!"

Sam shrugged and Daniel replied, "I know what Sam's going to say… we've been friends long enough. She doesn't mind, although it'd be a change for us to go down to Cali. I guess we'll have to toss a coin for it."

Mark raised an eyebrow at his brother-in-law that strongly reminded the Archaeologist of his wife, and Sam smiled at her brother, adding, "We've known each other for too long."

'_He'd freak if he knew the truth._'

'_Are you kidding?! He'll either call us nuts or start giving that mad ex of yours credibility._'

Sam fought not to roll her eyes at Daniel's bitter mention of Pete, and then she heard Daniel say to her, '_I am jealous. I don't like it, but I am. I'm sorry. Actually, no… not after what he did to you._'

'_It's ok. It's nice to feel wanted once in a while._'

'_Oh Sam… I want you all the time._'

Mark remarked as they quickly got up as Cammie hit another child, "Only your daughter, Sammy."

As a small child sat on the ground, bawling her eyes out, Daniel grabbed Cammie, stopping her from dealing another blow, and forced the little girl to focus on him. Sensing anger from her, he said sternly when he had her full attention,

"Cameron, explain yourself."

As the child's mother rushed forth, rudely blaming Cammie's mother's parenting skills for Cammie's outburst, Sam said, looking at the woman witheringly,

"Excuse me, say that to my face instead of from a mile away."

Mark discreetly stepped to his sister's side, holding her forearm to discourage her from picking a fight, all the while keeping an eye on the other mother who had picked the bawling child up. She shot back, still not stepping any closer as Daniel glanced up,

"Well, that explains everything. Like mother, like daughter. You let your little girl watch violent TV shows and that's what you get. She's a bully. If she's bruised my Hayley, I'll sue you for all you're worth." She then proceeded to coo down at the child in her arms.

Sam retorted, casually throwing her brother's hand off, "I won't have you talking about my daughter like that. She made a mistake. She's going to say sorry… now stop behaving like a child and move on."

The other mother rolled her eyes, looking at Sam scathingly, and Daniel stood up, holding a belligerent looking Cammie in his arms, and he said, looking at her mother, "Your child isn't so innocent… my daughter was only defending her sister because your daughter threatened to throw a stone at her. I suggest you get your facts straight before you accuse my wife of being a bad parent."

Looking around and realising that she had three able adults looking fearlessly at her, the mother stormed off in a huff, angrily muttering something about the military, and Daniel looked at Sam, asking silently, feeling her anger,

'_Honey?_'

Sam shook her head and Daniel set Cammie on the ground, and said, kneeling in front of her, "Cameron, if anyone ever does that again, you come straight to me or Mommy, ok?"

Cammie said, still angry as she stamped her foot, "But she was gonna throw…"

Daniel cut her off and said, shaking his head, "No. I know you were protecting Claire but other people won't see it like that. You'll get into trouble instead of the other kid. Do you understand?"

Cammie reluctantly nodded and he asked her, "Do you want to carry on playing, or do you want to go home?"

Cammie, now looking tearful, replied, clinging onto her father, "Wanna go home, Daddy."

Daniel stood up, holding her in his arms as he kissed her hair, the little girl resting her head on his shoulder, and Mark patted him on the other shoulder, saying with a proud smile as Sam smiled too, "That was pretty cool, Daniel."

Daniel looked embarrassed, and Sam said gushingly, "Oh, you should see him on our missions… cool as a cucumber."

Daniel asked James as the little boy looked up at his sister worriedly, "Junior, do you want to go home too?"

James asked, "Is Cammie ok?"

Daniel replied as he glanced at Cammie, smoothing her hair, "Yeah, she's fine."

Sam went to get Claire and Jake, and Mark remarked as Daniel held James' hand, "You know… for a minute there, I thought _my _sister was going to start dealing blows."

Daniel replied quietly, looking down at Cammie again, "She wouldn't have… not when words work better."

"Well, you've changed her beyond recognition then. Cammie's a lot like her… well, before she got Jacksonated."

Daniel smiled slightly as he heard Sam grumble obscenities in his head. "Yeah, I know."


	39. Breaking the Band

At the mountain, Cam's fist was poised to knock on the door of Sam's office when he heard Sam call from behind the door, "Come on in, Cam."

Smiling slightly on realising that she had sensed him, he entered the room, closing the door behind him to see Sam behind her desk, filling in some paperwork. He asked as he stood to attention before her desk, his hands behind his back and his chin level,

"Did I disturb you, Ma'am?"

Sam, bemused, looked up and remarked with a dismissive gesture, "_Cameron_, you're godfather to all of my children… you don't have to shoot your chest into the wall behind me."

Cam shrugged and said, looking helpless for a moment, "I don't know what to call you… especially now."

She smiled as he slowly took a seat. "Well, there's no-one here… and I'm sure this place isn't bugged."

He smiled back at her and she asked, putting her pen down, "So, what's up, Colonel?"

He shot her a glare, and she raised her eyebrows briefly, saying with a shrug, "We're even on the formality now." She gestured briefly to the full Colonel insignia on his lapel, "How does it feel to lose the LT?"

He replied, "Good… thanks." His expression dimmed. "You're not coming back to the team, are you?"

She bit her lip and said with a sigh, "Cam… there's no threat any more. The Goa'uld, the Replicators, the Ori… they're all gone. It's time for us to move on."

"I don't want to be on the team then. It's not SG-1 without you, Jackson and T."

She sighed again, leaning her head back, and said, "Cam…" She looked at him. "It's still SG-1."

"I beg to differ."

"There may be situations where we'll be needed, like when Vala stopped Daniel from going to Atlantis because she wanted him to look at a tablet she'd acquired… when you went after Teal'c on Dakara… and when General O'Neill ordered me to come back to deploy the Mark IX. Daniel and I are still here… I just hope that we can persuade Teal'c to stay here and to have Ish'ta with him."

"Thus strengthening my point."

She watched him for a moment and said softly, "We've been doing this for fifteen years, give or take… you've been doing it for seven. You've come such a long way as a person, a soldier, a leader… you, Vala and Jonas are going to be fine." A hint of sadness glimmered in her eyes for a moment. "I'm going to miss the team… we all will. SG-1 is unique… not particularly because of who's on it, but the team spirit, the record of overcoming insurmountable odds… never leaving a man behind. We're special because by becoming so close, we work together better because we know each other's strengths and weaknesses… and we're all not afraid to voice our opinions when needed."

The two Air Force officers gazed at each other, and he said quietly, "I'm gonna miss you, Sam."

"No you won't… and anyway, there isn't that much left to do off-world. We'll still see each other on base and off. It's… you could say that it's an evolution of our previous standing."

"Sure…"

--------------------

Cam returned to his own office to find Vala perched on the front of his desk, and he kissed her gently as her arms came around him, and she asked, "How did it go with Samantha? Is she still not coming back to the team?"

He shook his head and replied, looking sad and lost, "No… not unless something happens that requires her… the same goes for T and Jackson."

She slid off his desk and said, standing in front of him, "Well, some sabotage may be in order. I've done it once… I could do it again."

He smiled briefly and then sighed. "No, it won't work. Sam has a point. They're not needed… and it's high time they were allowed to live their lives. If we somehow stop them from going, and if Jackson manages to die again, she'll blame us. So…" he slid his hands up to her shoulders, "… just us and Jonas."

She shrugged. "Maybe it's for the best. It's a big Universe – they'll be back."

He nodded, and she asked, "Are you ready to go home? I think we could finally crack the potty-training with Francis."

He smiled as he fingered a long strand of dark hair. "I wonder why he finds throwing faecal material at the window the funniest thing in the world."

"Well…" she raised an eyebrow in mirth, "my delightful mother-in-law once told me about a certain Colonel who used to do everything Francis does, and more. I just hope our son doesn't throw spiders down the dresses of any sisters we might give him."

Smiling happily, she slipped her arm through his as he remarked, embarrassed, "Mom says a lot of things."

"And being your predominant maternal figure, she would be the right person to regale embarrassing stories of your formative years."

"You've been hanging with T too much."

--------------------

Sam sat on the bed in Carson and McKay's quarters with a very heavily pregnant Carson seated in between her legs as she brushed the Scottish doctor's long hair. Sam remarked, amused,

"I'll bet not many Air Force Generals do this on duty."

"I'm just waiting for more rumours about you and Rodney shagging each other's brains out."

Sam retorted, an eyebrow raised, "Carson, you wanted me to brush your hair."

"Aye, well, you know what you're doing."

Sam smiled, continuing to brush the long locks, and she said, holding up a strand to the light, "You have really nice hair."

"Doctor's secret."

"Egg yolks?"

Carson chuckled and replied, "Ah, no… I'm a doctor not a chef. No… I just use normal shampoo, crème bath…"

Sam, surprised, asked, "Crème bath?!"

"Oh yeah… come on, scientist lass… it's got the same ingredients as crème conditioner and for a quarter of the price. And mousse."

"It's nice the way you look after your hair."

Carson snorted, remarking, "Just because I used to have a thingy between my legs doesn't mean I don't care about my appearance. And anyway, now with this Scots-Canadian bun in my oven, I get Rodney to wash my hair. He's such a sweetheart."

Sam smiled, and Carson continued, "But he can be an arsehole when he thinks he's right."

"… which is most of the time… although he's calmed down a lot."

"Aye."

"Are you still having arguments about names?"

"Oh no… not anymore. No, he just throws a strop and says that whatever I choose is ok before storming out and having a moaning spree on the phone to Jeannie."

Sam asked, confused, "What did he throw?"

Carson laughed. "Rodney gets confused when I forget myself and lapse into Scots vernacular. Essentially… _throwing a strop_ is throwing a tantrum… or being recalcitrant. Not particularly sure why it's called a 'strop'… but it's like jam here being jelly, and jelly being jell-o."

Sam chuckled, remarking, "Daniel could talk for hours about different vernaculars and dialectal forms. He finds English in particular a fascinating example of a language with so many different variants… American, British, Pidgin…"

Carson smiled and said, "I assume you have a special technique to stop him… or do you resort to your psychic abilities? Wow, I never thought I'd say that."

Sam smiled at remembering things, and she replied, her brushing strokes slowing down, "Oh… I found that distraction is the best solution for when Daniel's in full-blown bouncy mode."

Carson laughed at the thought of Daniel jumping up and down in excitement, as did Sam, and Carson remarked cheekily when Sam didn't elaborate, "Ah… no wonder you have five children at five and under. Well, the number of times he goes off on a tangent, I'm surprised it isn't more but then you are pretty responsible when you're not the direct subject of some whacked out Ancient prophecy."

Sam blushed and Carson turned to look at her, grinning in triumph, and the doctor continued, "Aye, well with Rodney, you have to distract him too…usually with Sigourney-freaking-Weaver."

Sam smiled in amusement. "Jealous much?"

"I don't like having competition… as flattering as it can be." Carson sighed. "I know Daniel's a regular guy when it comes down to it but I'll bet that his dream woman is you… it's the way he looks at you, as though nothing else exists. Ok, so fantasies aren't all bad, but his unhealthy fixation on that damn actress is a wee bit unsettling… I'm glad that he's worked through his… _whatever_ on you."

Sam shook her head and said softly, "That doesn't matter… McKay loves you – that's what should matter. And anyway… I know for a fact that Daniel notices other women… occasionally… I didn't particularly notice before but with our link, I've come to realise that he is a typical man sometimes. I don't mind though because I know that he loves me and that he wouldn't dream of looking at anyone else that way."

Carson replied with a sigh, "I guess you have a point. I need to stop being so insecure."

The doctor yawned and Sam asked, smoothing her temple, "Are you tired? I'm ok for a few hours – I'll stay with you."

Carson murmured as her eyes closed, her head leaning back against the General's shoulder as said General lay down, "Thanks, Sam. I keep having to take so many damn naps."

"Welcome to motherhood... you'll need them for when the baby's here."

--------------------

Carson woke up in Sam's embrace with a gasp, clutching her abdomen in pain as she cried out, and Sam woke up, having dozed off, and she asked, sitting up with the doctor and smoothing her bump, "Carson? What's wrong? Is the baby on its way?"

Carson remarked through gritted teeth as she forced herself through some breathing exercises, "Aye, the wee bugger's on a huge log flume."

Carson cried out in pain as the contractions grew in strength and speed, and Sam grabbed the phone at the side of the bed, calling for Carolyn.

'_Honey, what's wrong? You're panicking._'

'_The baby's coming._'

'... _baby?!_'

'_Ha, ha, very funny... Carson's. Ok, I need you to find McKay... I'm orbing Carson to the Infirmary._'

'_Do you need anything?_'

'_No, just find him._'

Sam held onto Carson as she whimpered, and the General whispered in the doctor's ear, "Carson, I'm going to take you to the Infirmary the Ancient way. I know you don't like doing things like that but I need to get you there quickly. It'll mean you get treated quicker."

Carson snapped, grimacing through the pain and discomfort, "Get on with it!"

Sam smiled slightly and closed her eyes, the two women slowly becoming engulfed in bluish-white light, orbs of the light rising to the ceiling.

--------------------

Sam sat with Daniel in the observation room overlooking the Infirmary, watching Carson going through labour with McKay at her side, holding her hand as Cassie and Carolyn went about preparing the doctor with the help of a couple of nurses. Daniel held Sam's hand as the General remarked quietly, worried,

"I bet we never saw this coming when we knew Carson the first time round."

She leaned her head on his shoulder and he replied, "Well... sixteen years ago, no-one knew what the Stargate was or what it could do, and now look where we are after fifteen years of 'gate travel."

She hummed in agreement, and he said softly, kissing her temple, "She doesn't look to be in as much pain as she was."

She nodded, replying, "That's because I took some of it away... but I'm scared I'll do something wrong if I take it all."

He let go of her hand and put his arm around her, playing with her hair, and he said, the two of them watching Carson, "We have been blessed. Despite everything, we've got a big family and each other... and our friends. Plus, we've seen and done so much."

She smiled a little and replied, her hand on his thigh, "It's one hell of a blessing."

Suddenly McKay, Cassie and Carolyn looked up at Sam, and the Jacksons straightened up, worried. Cassie waved and called,

"Sam... Carson wants you."

Sam nodded, surprised, and Daniel kissed her softly as she stood up, saying as he touched her cheek, "Go on, General... she needs you. Rodney's an incompetent boob."

Sam smiled, retorting silently as she ran out of the room, '_I married you, didn't I? Although... it was dark..._'

She heard him laugh as she entered the Infirmary, and as she approached Carson's bedside, McKay said, sneering ever so slightly, "Carson wants you to be her mother... which makes you my future mother-in-law."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him, hearing Daniel in her head say, '_Sam, calm down... you won't get anywhere by neutering him._'

The General sat at Carson's side, holding her hand as McKay held her other hand, and the tired doctor, her brow sweaty, looked up at Sam and said with a little smile, "Just ignore him... you're too young to pass for my mam." She closed her eyes and continued in a whisper, "I wish she was here though."

--------------------

Several hours later, McKay and Sam emerged from an isolation room, the former carrying a bundle in his arms, and forgetting all of his tiredness as he grinned down at the infant in his arms. They looked up from the baby to see Sheppard and Elizabeth waiting with Daniel in the Infirmary, and Sam smiled at the co-leaders of Atlantis in greeting. Sheppard remarked in amusement at McKay's joyful expression,

"You've been hiding that smile from us."

As Daniel slipped an arm around Sam, Elizabeth asked as McKay handed her the baby, "How's Carson doing?"

McKay replied, his smile never faltering but his voice showing his concern for his fiancée, "She's asleep... it took a lot out of her."

Elizabeth smiled down at the baby, Sheppard and the Jacksons looking at it as they gathered around her, and the expedition leader asked expectantly, looking up at McKay, "Well?"

McKay beamed, saying as he glanced at Sam, "She's a girl... and her name's Samantha Marie Beckett-McKay."

Sam looked a little teary-eyed, and Sheppard and Elizabeth exchanged a glance, the former replying with a raise of his eyebrows, "You're just nuts about Quantum Leap."

Elizabeth added, amused, "And Sam."

'_They went with it... I can't believe they went with it... they could have chosen anything else. Why..._'

'_Oh, stop complaining. I've got two babies middle-named after me... there's Francis, and then there's Charlotte. You've got one first-named, which makes us even as a first name gets used more than a middle name.'_

'_Your logic makes me laugh sometimes.'_

Sam glanced at Daniel and smiled slightly as he saw him pout, and, as Sheppard held the baby, Elizabeth went into the isolation to pay a visit to the tired mother. Sam asked as Sheppard showed McKay how to hold Samantha properly,

"Hey, how are things?"

Sheppard replied with a little smile, "Good... Charlotte's doing fine... and so is Helen. And that galaxy is pretty quiet for once, although we get the Genii coming in to cause trouble occasionally."

"They're just doing it for the sake of it now."

"Well... yeah. So... how are your five kiddies? Any more on the way?"

Sam looked at Daniel, who remarked with a straight face, "Yes, several."

Sam laughed as McKay and Sheppard looked stunned, and she replied to the Colonel's initial question, "Yeah, they're doing fine."

Daniel pouted in her head and said, '_I wish I could get pregnant again._'

'_You just want the attention._'

'_It worked for Carson._'

'_Carson didn't have to have a Caesarean. In fact..._' she smiled in anticipation, '_Carson has a birth canal._'

Daniel cleared his throat in embarrassment and as Sheppard stared at him, and then proceeded to tease him, McKay joining in as he cradled his new daughter, Sam sauntered off to her office with a mischievous smile on her face as she heard Daniel grumble multilingual swear words in her head.


	40. Advice

As Daniel, alone, sorted through the contents of the shelves in his office, alphabetising books and such, Sheppard quietly slipped in, locking the door behind him. Daniel, sensing the Colonel, said without turning around,

"Hey, Sheppard."

Sheppard looked stunned for a moment and then shook his head slightly in bemusement. "Jackson."

Daniel turned around and asked as the Colonel sat down, the Archaeologist perching on the front of his desk to face him, "What's up?"

"I need to ask you something… I know we don't know each other especially well…" Sheppard sighed, looking at the ground. He looked up again, looking awkward, "It's personal."

Worried on feeling odd things from the Colonel, Daniel pulled up another chair and sat down opposite him, asking, "What is it?"

Sheppard looked as though he was considering something and then he pulled something from his pocket, opening his hand to reveal a velvet box. Daniel's eyebrows slowly shot up as he felt Sam do a double take in his head.

'_You better tell him you're married otherwise I won't be held responsible for my actions._'

'_I have every intention of doing so… he's got to know that I could have some contagion that might make him crazy too._'

'_Daniel… is this your way of getting lucky?_'

'_Maybe…I'll talk to you later._'

He temporarily blocked Sam's thoughts out so he could focus, and Sheppard asked with a sigh as he gazed at the box, "How did you know you were ready to marry again when you proposed to the General?"

Daniel replied, grimacing a little, "I had to ascend to be able to live with myself for not saving Sha're."

Sheppard, touched on realising how much it had taken for Daniel to reveal that to him after hearing a rumour that Vala had had to surmise who the dark haired woman in the picture on his desk was, asked, "Did you wake up one morning and realise that you loved her?"

Daniel shook his head with a little smile, replying, "No. I always felt something for Sam. Ascending helped me to realise a few things. I became more aware of it when I was free of the trappings of a corporeal form. It's surprisingly therapeutic. When I came back, I made a promise to never tell her a thing."

Sheppard, now surprised, asked, "You would have let her go?"

Daniel replied with a short nod, years of sadness resurfacing in his eyes, "If it meant that she was happy. She's my best friend."

"So what changed?"

Daniel looked down at the floor and said in a low voice as he recalled some very painful and traumatic memories, "When we were pregnant, it turned out that she felt the same way about me. Usually…" he looked at Sheppard again, "… after such an experience, a guy would propose out of courtesy… but I meant it. I wanted to marry her, to bring up our children together." He smiled. "She said 'yes'."

Sheppard smiled, and Daniel continued, watching the Colonel, "Don't let go of Liz. You'll regret it if you do. At the time, I was all set to be Sam's best friend only… but looking back, seeing what we have now, I wouldn't give this up for anything."

"Well, we don't have the fortune to be half-Ancients."

"As Jack would say, _it's the principle_. Look, I know you were married once before…"

Sheppard nodded and replied, reflecting on the past, "I'm scared that it'll end badly like it did with Nancy."

"Don't let fear hold you back from happiness. You both deserve to catch a break for once."

Sheppard asked, slowly at first as he held the ring box up in his palm, "So… what do you say? Should I…?"

"Only if you feel ready… it's something that you have to decide for yourself. If it helps… I was nervous too when I popped the question."

Sheppard's fingers closed around the box and he said, looking at the Archaeologist briefly, his eyes focussed on his fist in thought and determination, "Thanks, man."

--------------------

Daniel perched on the edge of his desk after Sheppard had left, his tasks forgotten as he thought over everything that had happened that day, and what he and Sheppard had discussed, his thought processes fogged ever so slightly by tiredness. He leaned his head back, pinching the bridge of his nose, and then looked straight in front of him on seeing a flash of light, to see Sam standing there, looking concerned. She smiled slightly, pulling a comb out of her pocket and combing his hair as he frowned in confusion. She said silently, amused,

'_I don't have to be psychic to know that you're tired… your hair sticks up, a bit like it does in the morning._'

'_Great… you're my stalker._'

'_And you get grumpy._'

She hugged him and he rested his head on her shoulder, whispering, his eyes drifting shut as she smoothed the hair around his ear, "It's late and I'm drained."

She kissed the tip of his ear and replied, "It's been a long day… come on, let's go. We'll probably get some happy news tomorrow from Shep and Liz."

When she sensed his surprise, she continued, "That block of yours doesn't always work."

"I guess I'll have to stop trying."

She remarked with a smile as she fingered his hair, "Only if I get to do your hair."

When she sensed his bemusement, she continued, "It'll be good practice for James and Jake."

He raised his eyebrows at her as he straightened up to look at her, asking, "I'm your guinea pig?"

"Nope. I'm just taking care of my Archaeologist."

He grinned as he played with her hair. "You do that anyway."


	41. Amazed

_Lyrics featured are Amazed, by Lonestar. Alas, the end is nigh, but fear not…_

_--------------------_

After settling the children down by herself, Sam returned to her room to find the Archaeologist fast asleep and half-dressed. Amused, she took the rest of his clothes off, leaving him in his boxers, and she wrapped her arms around him, holding him close as she felt his heartbeat against hers, and she smiled, feeling at peace.

"_Every time our eyes meet  
This feeling inside me  
Is almost more than I can take…_"

She felt him stir and she looked down at him, watching his eyes open, and she felt an overwhelming rush of love that was both from her and not. She smiled on seeing him smile, and they kissed.

_  
_"_Baby when you touch me  
I can feel how much you love me  
And it just blows me away …_"

He gazed up at her, touching her cheek, allowing her to see and feel the love he felt for her. She, surprised despite knowing him so well, in turn, showed him how much she loved him, and she smiled when he looked shell-shocked. She ran a hand across his chest as he stroked her back, all the while both of them gazing lovingly at each other.

_  
_ "_I've never been this close to anyone or anything  
I can hear your thoughts  
I can see your dreams_…"

'_We'll never get to sleep at this rate._'

She glanced down between them with a mischievous smile, a hand slowly drifting down his torso, '_I guessed._'

"_I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better_…"

He propped himself over her, gazing down at her with a smile, and he said, looking utterly carefree and happy, "I love you… in every possible way, every single day."

Now beneath him, she reached up to run her fingers through his hair, replying with a matching smile, "Me too. I love you, Daniel. No more wasted time… I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"As crazy as it sounds, so do I."

He lowered his head to kiss her, smiling more on hearing her hum in his head. He felt her body rise, feeling her growing pleasure in powerful waves, and he closed his eyes as his lips moved else where.

"_I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you_…"

At that moment, it hit home with a startling clarity that she was all that he could ever want, the only person he wanted to be with for the rest of his life. She, feeling his epiphany and sharing it, reached up to caress the sensitive spot on his neck, smiling against his shoulder as she felt his quickening heartbeat and breathing.

"_The smell of your skin  
The taste of your kiss  
The way you whisper in the dark  
Your hair all around me  
Baby you surround me  
You touch every place in my heart  
Oh it feels like the first time every time  
I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes_…"

She clambered on top of him and he gazed up at her in wonder between breathtaking kisses, smiling when he heard her whisper declarations of love, which he returned fully. He sighed happily during another kiss, her golden hair all around him, soft to the touch.

He felt a thrill run through him, the same thrill that he had experienced when they had made love for the first time during their pregnancies after admitting to each other how they felt; and the same thrill that he always felt each subsequent time, never tiring from the sheer joy and ecstasy of knowing how much she loved him at the same time as feeling his own feelings for her.

She raised her head to gaze down at him, and he became lost in her eyes, those forgiving, sympathetic grey-blue pools that he never wanted to see dimmed by tears ever again.

"_I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you_…"

Every little thing about her amazed him, not least the fact that she actually loved him. He closed his eyes, focussing on her mind and was taken aback by sensing even more love than he had felt before, more than he could perceive, more than he could begin to handle. If only he could love as passionately and as all-encompassing as she did.

"_I don't know how you do what you do  
I'm so in love with you  
It just keeps getting better  
I wanna spend the rest of my life  
With you by my side  
Forever and ever  
Every little thing that you do  
Baby I'm amazed by you_…"

She smiled and said, knowing his thoughts and sensing his wonder, "I love everything about you, my Galahad. Everything. You can feel how I feel about you… and I'm flattered that you love me so much. It's overwhelming the amount of love you have within you."

She lay at his side, running a hand up and down his bare stomach as he gazed at her lovingly, and he replied with a smile, "I'm flattered that you love me, period. We're going to be ok, aren't we?"

They kissed again, and she rested her chin on his shoulder, replying as he played with a strand of her hair, "I hope so. Now excuse me a minute while I go play with my Archaeologist…"

He grinned in anticipation, remarking, "I don't think a minute's going to be enough."

She grinned mischievously, retorting as her hand drifted lower once again, "Call it a _long_ minute."

"Would that be several hours, General?"

"Smartass."

--------------------

_Yikes! It's finished! Story number 10 of this series is finished! Wow. _

_Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favouriting and story alerting. Reviews are very much appreciated so I know whether I'm on the right track or not… or just whether you liked my work._

_Sequel coming up… it's in the brainstorming stage at the mo._

_Thank you!!!_


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